Indian boardrooms stuck at compliance-level women tally, action needed: Arundhati Bhattacharya

Affirmative action remains necessary as women's representation in corporate boardrooms continues to hover at minimum compliance levels, Salesforce South Asia President and CEO Arundhati Bhattacharya said on Thursday, while also cautioning that the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence risks deepening existing gender biases.

Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2026, the former State Bank of India (SBI) chairperson noted that while regulatory mandates ensured the entry of women into boardrooms—initially through family members and subsequently via independent directors—most companies have failed to progress beyond appointing just one woman director.

"It's not that I am very much in favour of things like affirmative action. But when you have tried everything and still not achieved it, then affirmative action is what is required. Just look at the boardrooms of India,” she pointed out.

Highlighting emerging technological disruptions, Bhattacharya flagged the risk of artificial intelligence models amplifying gender disparity due to systemic gaps in data availability.

"There is a risk that the gender bias will actually go up because AI tends to work on available material, train itself on available material, and the kind of material that is available on women doing various things is appreciably lower than that which is available on men. So obviously, the trends will automatically tend towards that, and you have to be very careful about whatever model you're using to ensure that the bias doesn't creep in," she said.

She also pointed to a digital divide within households, which hinders women from accessing modern digital tools and generative AI platforms. In lower-middle-class homes, the woman is typically the last to receive a mobile handset, often receiving older or hand-me-down devices rather than modern smartphones, she observed.

"Whether they use ChatGPT or Gemini or Claude... if they're not actually using it, they don't know what it can do, and therefore the access gets limited, and that again pushes them back. There has to be a very clearly defined policy as to how you can bring women to participate equally in the way things are changing today," she noted.

Reflecting on corporate policies, Bhattacharya recalled introducing a two-year sabbatical for women to prevent mid-career dropouts driven by childcare or eldercare duties. However, she observed that technology and post-pandemic hybrid work arrangements have now made such career breaks largely avoidable by offering flexibility in working hours and locations.

Addressing cultural expectations, Bhattacharya said that true parity requires a shift in how families bring up boys. Sons must witness fathers sharing domestic responsibilities, attending parent-teacher meetings, adjusting professional schedules for their spouses' careers, and celebrating their wives' achievements without feeling diminished, she said.

She also voiced discomfort with labels like "women leadership" and specialised corporate awards. "What is women leadership? It's leadership. But why do you have to call them out separately? Because they are so few in number… I would love for us to be so many that you don't need to count… in 10 years if we don't achieve it, then we will be doing ourselves and the future generations a disservice," she said.

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