Arun Duggal, Chairman, Shriram Capital in partnership with Anjali Bansal of Spencer Stuart India have spearheaded an initiative to get more women on corporate boards.
He speaks about the challenges and what the process has been like so far.
Tell us a little about yourself...
I am a retired banker. I spent the past 26 years in the Bank of America and this was my last posting before coming back to India.
I am now chairman of Shriram Capital. I am an independent director on several companies. I also teach and am a visiting faculty member at IIM Ahmedabad.
I am now chairman of Shriram Capital. I am an independent director on several companies. I also teach and am a visiting faculty member at IIM Ahmedabad.
You’ve worked across the world and in leading organizations. Are you a risk taker?
I’ve worked in various parts of banking and find it to be a process involving continuous challenges and learning.
I’ve worked in various parts of banking and find it to be a process involving continuous challenges and learning.
What qualities do you look for when hiring graduates?
I don’t hire graduates so I will give a generic response here. One would look for technical competence, intellectual abilities, interpersonal skills and assessment in terms of morals and ethics.
I don’t hire graduates so I will give a generic response here. One would look for technical competence, intellectual abilities, interpersonal skills and assessment in terms of morals and ethics.
You have started a program of mentoring women in the workplace. Is there a story/experience behind it that you’d like to share?
It was an issue that was being written about at the time. There was a lot of support for this idea. But the practical aspect was the availability for women at senior positions. We wanted to train between 50 and 60. But there are very few women already in these positions to train them.
We have people like Deepak Parekh, K V Kamath, Saroj Poddar, Hari Bhartia etc. who came on board. The idea is to one mentor would work with one woman for three months.
What does the term ‘board ready’ woman mean to you?
Better understanding of what regulations and law are. It means that a woman understands what it means to be an independent director with practical knowledge and human insight. She will be aware of strategy and corporate governance. She should know how an audit committee works and be ready to join a board of directors once the mentorship is complete.
How do women get involved in the initiative?
We are looking for 75 women of high potential. They can send their biodata and photo across to deepika@shriram.com .
Since we’re looking for people at the board level, we will be focusing on women who are above 40 and can demonstrate success in their professional life. We will be matching the skills of the women to that of the mentors. We are looking at training 100 women in the next 12 months.
Since we’re looking for people at the board level, we will be focusing on women who are above 40 and can demonstrate success in their professional life. We will be matching the skills of the women to that of the mentors. We are looking at training 100 women in the next 12 months.
How many applications have you received?
We have received around 75 applications. Most of them are from Mumbai and Delhi but we’ve also got a few from Hyderabad and Chennai. We need to match women with mentors in that city so it is easier for us to find mentors in larger cities.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
According to the new Companies Act, there has to be one woman on the board. Now, 60 per cent of the BSE 500 companies don’t have a single female director so there is a gap in terms of requirement. Our effort is not a legal effort. We are looking at a high potential drive for women to be effective on boards.
