FMCG & Pharma Lead In Women CEO Representation: Survey

Consumer goods and pharmaceutical companies in India have the highest share of women chief executive officers, according to a survey by Executive Access commissioned by The Times of India.

The survey found that the FMCG sector accounts for 19% of women Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), while the pharmaceutical sector accounts for 17%. Women leading companies in the consumer sector include Priya Nair of Hindustan Unilever, Prabha Narasimhan of Colgate-Palmolive India, and Geetika Mehta of Nivea India. In the pharmaceutical industry, leaders include Shweta Rai of Bayer, Meenakshi Nevatia of Pfizer, and Annapurna Das of Takeda. Earlier, sectors such as banking had women leaders, including Shikha Sharma at Axis Bank and Naina Lal Kidwai at HSBC.

Industry officials said challenges remain in areas such as promotion systems and workforce participation. They added that addressing gaps in middle management roles is important for building leadership pipelines.