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Data from Prime Database shows a notable rise in women chief financial officers in India’s corporate sector, but their presence in top roles remains low. Between March 2021 and October 2025, the number of women CFOs on company boards has grown from 19 to 77, marking a fourfold increase. Despite this progress, women make up just 14 percent of board-level finance chiefs among the 544 NSE-listed companies that have CFOs on boards, with men holding the vast majority of those roles. Extending beyond board positions, women account for only about 8.4 percent of all CFOs across 2,038 NSE firms, with a total of 187 women in finance head roles.
The report highlights that women CFOs are more visible in industrial, consumer, and information technology sectors, and are disproportionately concentrated in mid- and small-cap companies. Large-cap firms above Rs 1 lakh crore show much lower representation. Experts point to structural barriers, such as unconscious bias, limited access to strategic finance assignments and board networks, and unequal caregiving responsibilities as factors slowing women’s rise to senior finance leadership. They recommend policies that focus on measurable outcomes, board-readiness training, broader exposure to strategic roles and mentorship to improve gender diversity in finance leadership.
