This book is about the presence, role and status of women on the boards of listed firms in India and China and is written amongst increasing awareness of the need to ensure at least a minimum level of gender equality in corporate positions of power and the costs of failing to do so.

This book is about the presence, role and status of women on the boards of listed firms in India and China and is written amongst increasing awareness of the need to ensure at least a minimum level of gender equity in corporate positions of power and the costs of failing to do so. In America, the Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors of Fortune 500 companies, created in 1993, encouraged the leadership of those companies to increase the number of women serving on their boards. In the UK, the FTSE 100 Cross-Company Mentoring Programe facilitates mentoring relationships between senior women from different FTSE 100 firms. In Norway, 2006 saw the coming into effect of a legal requirement for at least 40% of list company board positions to be filled by women. The introduction of this new requirement has proven effective. In 2003, the boards of publicly listed firms had 7% of their positions filled by women. By July 2008, the proportion of women directors had risen to 39%. A draft Companies Amendment Bill 2003 in India would have allowed the Minister to prescribe a gender quota for company boards, but the provision was dropped from the Companies Bill 2008 which eventually replaced the 2003 draft. This leaves the world's two most populous nations without any formal institution or regulation aimed at supporting women in the boardroom. Nor is there any existing literature focusing specifically on the presence, role and status of women directors in these two countries. This book aims to fill that gap, with a particular emphasis on the possibilities and likelihood for future reform in this area.