Corporate Governance: An Insight into the Imposition and Implementation of Gender Diversity on Indian Boards

Abstract Prolific research on gender diversity invariably links it to the financial outcomes, responsible behaviour, stock movements and the like. Very few studies have tried to peep into the actual board composition of the companies to know the effective implementation status of the various impositions and regulations introduced by the legislators to embrace gender equality on board seats. The current study attempts to examine the implementation of three main governance reforms that have been introduced recently by the Indian market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Companies Act, 2013. In doing so, the study undertook content analysis of annual reports of top 200 Indian companies, constituting BSE200 index over a period of five years, that is, 2015–2019. The observations made about the board composition clearly indicate mere compliance and appointment of women as tokens on Indian boardrooms. The study makes some useful recommendations for the corporate managers and the policymakers.