COMPANIES ACT 2013 – A BIG STEP TOWARDS WOMAN EMPOWERMENT IN THE CORPORATE WORLD: A STUDY WITH REFERENCE TO THE BANKING INDUSTRY
Description
The Indian Society has travelled from equal status to a male dominated one, reflecting the women as the weaker section. With the passage of time the society has progressed and now we have a number of rules and regulations established for providing security and special status to women. The Indian judicial system and financial system are also maintaining special provisions of law for betterment of women. August, 2013 has brought in a new era in the history of company law in India. The history of corporate India witnessed a landmark action by the introduction of the new Companies Act on 29th August, 2013. The new Act introduces a new provision relating to Women Directors. This noble act instils a new outlook on boardroom management. The new Companies Act 2013 enacts that every listed company and every other company having paid-up share capital of one hundred crore rupees or more or having a turnover of three hundred crore rupees or more, shall have at least one women director. This mandatory requirement to appoint women on the board is expected to bring diversity as well as women potentials. The present paper focuses on the issue of representation of women directors on the board of some selected private sector and public sector banks prior to and after the introduction of the new Companies Act. It highlights the comparative situation regarding composition of the board of these banks and position of women directors on the board of those selected banks as an impact of the vast changes in corporate laws.