Woman on top? Nah, say leading Gujarat cos

Gujarat may be known as the state of entrepreneurs but when it comes to representation in listed companies, women are nowhere near their male counterparts.

It was found that of the 21 top listed companies from Gujarat promoted by families, hardly seven had women on their board, and only one had a woman holding the top position. DNA does a reality check on presence of women in the board of directors of a few listed companies from state.

On an average, companies have eight board members. One third of the companies have given one position to woman. In four companies — Alembic Ltd, Dishman Pharmaceuticals, Ganesh Housing and Asahi Songwon Colors Ltd — a woman from the promoter’s family has got a position on the board. Asahi Songwon Colors is probably the only listed company from Gujarat to be chaired by a woman, Paru Jaykrishna. She was also the first woman president of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Malika Amin, wife of Alembic Group’s promoter Chirayu Amin, is a full-time director with Alembic Ltd. She drew salary and perquisites of Rs17.12 crore in 2011-12.

Having extensive experience in corporate management and administration, she has been working with the company since 1988.  Similarly, Deohooti J Vyas may not be playing an active role, but the wife of Dishman Group promoter JR Vyas is a whole-time director of Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals. She holds a bachelor’s degree in science, from the Bombay University. She joined the company in 1997.

Lalita G Patel is the non-executive promoter director of Ganesh Housing Corporation Ltd. At the age of 67, she does not play any active role in the company, but holds 14% share of Ganesh Housing Corporation, which is currently promoted by her sons Dipak Patel and Shekhar Patel. She holds directorship at Ganesh Infotech Limited, Starnet Software (I) Limited and Shree Ganesh Fintrade Limited.  

Sintex Industries, Zydus Wellness and Torrent Pharmaceuticals have roped in a professional woman on their board.

Prof Indira J Parikh is an independent and non-executive director of both Sintex Industries and Zydus Wellness. She is founder president of Foundation of Liberal And Management Education (FLAME), and was also faculty at IIMA for over 30 years.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals has got Dr Leena Srivastava as additional director in the company. She is executive director at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi. The billionaire Adani Group of Ahmedabad has ruled out the option of giving any place to a woman on the board.

Adani Enterprises has nine members on the board, Adani Ports & SEZ has 11 and Adani Power has six. None of them has a woman either from the family or outside on its board. Similarly, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Elecon Engineering, Torrent Power, Cadila Healthcare, Sadbhav Engineering, Claris Lifesciences, Meghmani Organics, Nirma, Torrent Cables, Radhe Developers and Gujarat Gas do not have women on their board.

Appointment to the board has to be on the basis of merit and not gender, believes Parul Mehta, COO and co-founder of Motif Inc. “Running a business is a different ballgame, for which the board or management hires people on the basis of merit. This does not mean that a woman from the promoter family has a right to be on the board,” she said.

But the situation is improving, feels city-based entrepreneur Ruzan Khambatta. “Earlier, women were seen on the board of less than 7% companies. This has now increased to 14% nationally. In case of Gujarat, the scene is much better as of 21 companies, at least seven have given position to a woman in their board, which is 33%,” she said.

A father will spend a certain amount on a start-up company for his son. He will spend double that amount on the wedding of his daughter but not for a start-up company for her, says Bhagyesh Soneji, chairperson, Gujarat Council, ASSOCHAM. “But things are changing. Women have become entrepreneurs and in next 10 years they will also be seen in capital markets,” she said.