Where are India’s women at the global table?

In June 2025, when a global not-for-profit returned to India after hosting a creative exchange at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2025 with leaders from Snap Inc., Spotify, M·A·C Cosmetics, Samsung, and 20 other global giants, a troubling pattern about Indian women leadership came to the fore. The vibe was magical, and the French climate was the perfect setting to host this Cannes-clave.

Yet, despite the diversity and vibrancy of Cannes, most speakers at this high-octane event were top global executives; Indian women remained in the minority across the board.

From African storytellers, European executives to Brazilian advertising mavericks, the ritzy French town was buzzing with global voices, and the World Economic Forum had leaders from every continent—but India’s women leaders were literally nowhere to be seen. 

The numbers don’t lie: A deep systemic gap

The lack of Indian women at major global stages like Cannes and Davos highlights a deeper, ongoing challenge back home—gender inequality in the workplace.

A recent report on gender diversity in leadership by LinkedIn and The Quantum Hub reveals that while there has been some progress in women’s representation at senior levels—rising from 24% in 2016 to 27% in 2024 but the pace remains slow.

The numbers for top leadership roles tell an even more sobering story. Women in C-suite and partner positions rose slightly from 17% in 2016 to 19% in 2022, only to dip to 18% in 2024. The report notes this may correct itself over time, but the trend reflects underlying structural issues.

Hiring trends mirror this struggle. In 2016, women accounted for 19% of leadership hires; by 2021, the figure rose to 25%, only to fall again to 23% by January 2024.

This drop-off starts early, according to a McKinsey Women in the Workplace report 2025. While women make up nearly 50% of university students in India, only 33% actually enter the workforce. Of those, just 24% make it to managerial roles.

The barriers are clear: fewer hiring opportunities, higher dropout rates, and limited chances for promotion.

A striking data point from the report underscores the imbalance—the average age of women at the entry level is 39, while for men it is 32. This suggests delayed starts, career breaks, or a lack of growth opportunities for women in their early working years.

At the board level, representation still relies heavily on mandates. Based on data released by primeinfobase.com, while 97% of NSE-listed companies have at least one woman director—mostly due to regulatory requirements—only 21% of total board seats are held by women. Even more concerning, 26 public sector undertakings still have no women directors at all.

Globally, gender equality remains a distant goal. The World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report 2024 estimates it will take 131 years to fully close the gender gap. In India, just one in 10 senior roles is occupied by a woman. And for the few who reach the top, the journey is often lonely, exhausting, and filled with invisible roadblocks and persistent bias.

Networking: Breaking the unseen barrier

At an international gathering in Davos, former Union minister Smriti Zubin Irani voiced a powerful truth that resonated deeply across India’s professional landscape, “Networking should not only be leveraged by the privileged who have the money to reach the streets of Davos. The true power and potential of networking will be actualised when women from challenging economic backgrounds have that opportunity.”

Her words struck a chord. In India today, access to global platforms is still shaped more by privilege than by talent. Across tier-2 and 3 cities, in startups and social enterprises, thousands of visionary women remain invisible—not because they lack ability, but because they lack access.

The solution? India needs a networking revolution. It needs to democratise leadership and build bridges to global platforms for all deserving women—not just a privileged few. While skills open doors, it is the networks that often decide who walks through them. 

A recent Time Use Survey by the National Statistics Office revealed that only 25% of women engaged in employment activities in 2024. Hence, for women, professional networks, mentorship, and access aren’t just advantages—they are game-changers.

Leadership lessons from women who were there

While Indian women were few at Cannes 2025, those who were present made it count. Anupama Ramaswamy, joint managing director and chief creative officer at Havas India, led from the front—bringing home India’s first Gold at Cannes Lions 2025 for Times of India’s ‘Ink of Democracy’ campaign. Beyond awards, she’s reshaping how stories are told in advertising.

Reflecting on her leadership, Ramaswamy shared, “My intent has always been simple: to tell the truth that often gets overlooked. Not the loud, performative kind, but the quiet truths people live every day. As a woman, I’m deeply aware of what gets edited out—the self-doubt behind the strength, the care mistaken for compliance. I try to make space for that complexity, without reducing it to a stereotype. Through every brief, every room, every choice—I try to keep that honesty intact.”

In a similar vein, Mahima Kukreja, creative technologist at Liqvd Asia, said, “I’m a huge believer in walking the talk. Which means hiring creatives who represent diverse backgrounds and lived experiences that end up sharing the work and stories the brands tell. Making them more authentic for the communities and consumers we are connecting with.”

For Meera Sharath Chandra, founder, CEO, and chief creative officer at Tigress Tigress, inclusion is non-negotiable: “My team of alliance partners are all over the world—we revel in our cultural differences and leap off each other’s strengths. We have been diverse since Day One. We have been inclusive since Day One. Ours is a culture of respect.”

These women didn’t just take part—they changed the narrative. Now imagine the power of many more Indian women leading on such global stages. That’s how real change begins—not with giant leaps, but with small, meaningful steps.

As Einstein said, “I wish to do something great and wonderful, but I must start by doing the little things like they were great and wonderful.” Hopefully, India will witness and welcome a women’s leadership renaissance where the future is female!

- Stuti Jalan, founder, Women Inspiring Network (WIN)