Society · 11 Sep 2026

Avtar-Seramount study women corporate executives

Consider the following statements:

  1. Section 149(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 mandates that every listed company must have at least one woman director on its board.
  2. As per the 11th edition of the Avtar-Seramount study, women's share of Corporate Executive roles in India's Best Companies for Women fell in 2026, with "health and wellbeing" overtaking "childcare" as the leading cited reason for women exiting the workforce.
  3. The same study found that India-headquartered companies had a higher percentage of women at the Corporate Executive level than US-headquartered companies operating in India.
A1 only
B1 and 2 only
C2 and 3 only
D1, 2 and 3
This question is based on: Women's Representation in Senior Corporate Roles Falls as Avtar Flags US DEI Pullback
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 11 Sep 2026
About this question

Why in news

The 11th edition of the Avtar-Seramount Best Companies for Women in India study, released this week, recorded a sharp one-year fall in women's senior corporate representation, linked partly to a global DEI pullback following a US policy shift.

Why for UPSC

Tests the ability to distinguish a legislated reform (boardroom quota) from a voluntary, imported one (executive-level DEI) and checks close reading of comparative statistics rather than headline figures.

Prelims summary

Section 149(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 legislates board-level gender diversity, but senior executive representation remains voluntary. India-headquartered firms lag foreign-headquartered firms on this specific metric.

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