On the occasion of International Women’s Day, I thought I would delve into the fast-changing trend of women and their roles in the corporate boardroom.

Discussions around the need for women in leadership positions is almost a decade old management topic now. Globally and in India, women have made significant progress and are now taking up leadership roles. Various governments and policymakers have done their bit in creating statutory rules to improve women’s representation in corporate leadership — the Indian Companies Act mandating the compulsory appointment of lady directors in corporate board is a progressive example.

Despite this current data shows that women’s representation at senior management level, especially at the board level, is either ornamental or to fulfil the legal criteria. For example, if we look at the list of Indian board of directors, most of the female members have independent, non-executive, or representative roles.

Let me share a few data points. Leading newspaper Mint reported that in India 60% of the Nifty-500 firms have just one woman on their boards, as per the mandated law in 2019 fiscal; 31% have two women on their boards and only 5% have three women. Only eleven companies, or 2.2% of the Nifty-500 firms, have had more than three women on their boards.

The global numbers are equally dismal. HBR research mentions only 4.9% of Fortune 500 CEOs and 2% of S&P 500 CEOs are women. These numbers are only declining globally.

Now let’s look at the other side. Research and data has repeatedly proven that women are better than men in leadership skills. A Zenger & Folkman study shows women score higher percentile than men in leadership traits like ‘drives for results’, ‘bold leadership’, ‘displays high integrity and honesty’, ‘champions change’, ‘inspires and motivate others’, etc. – everything that a corporate looks for from a leader for growth and stakeholder value-creation.

To co-relate this, I do see things changing in the real world. In terms of absolute numbers and data, it may still be small, but businesses have started looking at women leaders from a strategic perspective. The same research rates women higher than men in qualities like resilience, relationship building, and setting stretch goals – all of it is music to the ears for every business. Kindness in leadership is a great strength women leaders possess.

Globally and in India, you can find a lot of women leaders already don the roles of Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Financial Officer or Chief Communications Officer across the globe and different sectors. Thus, winds of change towards women occupying senior positions are already here. It is a matter of time before women join the boardroom in larger numbers. The Indian banking and financial sector maybe be a bellwether which today sees a number of female leaders in the top.

Another related aspect that is worrying boards globally and which again points towards boardrooms and positions inclusive of women is that of conduct. Financial misreporting is one that is most visible while gender issues, environmental damage, and defective and harmful product recall decisions being others. Studies have repeatedly shown that women are more honest, trust-led, and ethical in conduct. Businesses are realising that inclusion of women and a more gender-balanced leadership in companies helps avoid the creation of a ‘boys club’ boardroom culture which in recent times have thrown up various controversies. This also provides scope for more diverse and broader perspectives to come into play, leading to better business outcomes.

This is something I have witnessed being in the role of a leadership coach and working with many women leaders for their self and career improvement. I see women taking up corner office roles like CFOs in bigger numbers. In the past decade, when women took up HR leadership roles, organisations have benefitted immensely in talent retention by making employee benefits transparent and aligning employee growth with the company. I see the same as and when the CFO position is led by a woman.

I would like to point out that more women in leadership positions only creates better and futuristic workplaces. To be fair, businesses have experienced women leaders both at the good and bad end. While Indra Nooyi broke the ‘glass ceiling’ and is admired globally for her leadership skills, we also saw Theranos, the start-up, whose founder Elizabeth Holmes was involved in fraudulent medical research invention claims, fooling Silicon Valley investors and taking the business sector by shock. What I mean is that while inclusivity is important, the hard work of men in leadership positions so far is not to be overlooked or dismissed.

While everything has its pros and cons, going ahead I see significant benefit in professional women leaders joining and participating in company boards. It will create a better environment of ‘checks and balances’ in today’s uncertain world.