Corporate India's Leadership Paradox: High Ambition, Slowing Progress for Women
A new report by the All India Management Association (AIMA) and KPMG-India has uncovered a troubling leadership paradox in corporate India. While women's ambition to lead remains robust, the systems designed to elevate them are losing momentum, creating a widening gap between intent and outcomes.
Strong Aspirations Meet Stagnant Representation
The Women Leadership in Corporate India 2026 report, based on a survey of over 200 professionals across various sectors and company sizes, reveals that 79% of women aspire to leadership roles, with over half aiming for C-suite positions. However, progress on representation is slowing significantly. 30% of companies reported no increase, or even a decline, in women leaders over the last five years, nearly double the figure from 2024. Alarmingly, 10% of organizations surveyed have no women at all in leadership roles, highlighting the uneven gains across the corporate landscape.
The Progression Problem and Mid-Career Attrition
Data from the study indicates that the core issue is not entry or aspiration but progression. Nearly three-fourths of organizations reported that less than 30% of their long-tenured female employees rise to leadership roles, while men advance in far greater numbers within the same firms. The report flags middle and senior management as the most vulnerable stage, with 65% of respondents noting that women are most likely to exit the workforce mid-career. This attrition severely hampers the pipeline to top positions.
At the board level, the situation is particularly stark. Only 1% of women currently occupy board-level positions, underscoring how ambition sharply thins out at the very top. The report emphasizes that meaningful progress depends on intentional organizational design, transparent systems, consistent sponsorship, and leadership accountability, pointing to structural bottlenecks rather than individual choice as the main constraint.
Decelerating Pace and Worsening Perceptions
The pace of change has clearly decelerated. In 2024, 83% of organizations said they had increased the number of women leaders over the previous five years. By 2026, that figure fell to around 70%, with the rest reporting stagnation or decline. The report warns that early gains may be plateauing, risking a stall in diversity advancements.
Perceptions of fairness have also worsened. Only 28% of employees believe leadership promotions are fair and transparent, down from 38% in 2024, even as more firms claim to have formal evaluation processes. Concurrently, 36% of respondents feel management tends to favor men for certain leadership roles, particularly those involving high pressure or long hours.
Disconnect in Leadership Development
A significant disconnect is visible in leadership development initiatives. Though companies often highlight training programs as a key intervention, half of the women surveyed said they did not participate in any leadership development programme in the past year. This raises critical questions about access, sponsorship, and the reach of such programs, further impeding women's advancement.
Urgent Call for Action
As Indian companies prepare for a future shaped by technology, artificial intelligence, and demographic change, the report delivers a blunt message. Without fixing promotion pathways and addressing mid-career attrition, diversity gains risk stalling well before reaching the boardroom. Leadership diversity will not improve unless organizations intentionally strengthen the path to leadership, ensuring women have real opportunities to rise, not just enter the workforce.
The findings underscore a critical need for corporate India to move beyond diversity pledges and formal policies to implement tangible, systemic changes that support women's career progression from entry to the executive suite.
