More women CXOs join India’s million-dollar pay club as domestic firms lead compensation growth

The number of women C-suite executives earning more than $1 million annually has risen to nine from seven two years ago, with domestic companies leading the trend as corporate India places greater emphasis on diversity and professional leadership talent, according to a TOI report by Rupali Mukherjee.

According to an analysis of BSE 200 companies by executive search firm EMA Partners, a majority of women executives in the million-dollar compensation bracket are employed by Indian companies, with the pharmaceuticals and consumer goods sectors accounting for the largest share. The study considered annual compensation, including fixed pay, bonuses, variable compensation and exercised stock options, exceeding $1 million as the benchmark.

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Gopinadhan KG, Senior Partner – India and Singapore at EMA Partners, said the increase reflects a broader shift in corporate India, where diversity is increasingly being treated as a business priority rather than a compliance requirement. He noted that the trend is being driven largely by professional executives rather than promoter-led compensation structures and is particularly visible in sectors such as financial services and pharmaceuticals, which have historically built stronger female leadership pipelines

For FY25, Nilima Prasad Divi of Divi’s Laboratories emerged as the highest-paid woman executive, followed by Hina Nagarajan, Managing Director and CEO of United Spirits, and Vinita Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of Lupin.
Industry leaders attribute the trend to the growing scale of Indian companies and their increasing willingness to benchmark leadership compensation against global standards. They also point to a stronger pipeline of women moving into profit-and-loss, digital and strategic leadership roles across organisations.

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Experts said the shift highlights a broader move among Indian companies towards merit-based leadership and specialised managerial expertise, with financial services, consumer-facing businesses and pharmaceutical companies continuing to provide some of the strongest pathways for women to reach senior executive positions.

The analysis also found that domestic companies have outpaced multinational corporations in rewarding women leaders at the top level, reflecting changing priorities in talent management and leadership development across corporate India.

With inputs from TOI