COMPANIES ACT 2013 – A BIG STEP TOWARDS WOMAN EMPOWERMENT IN THE CORPORATE WORLD: A STUDY WITH REFERENCE TO THE BANKING INDUSTRY

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.印度社会已从性别平等的状态逐步演变为男性主导的社会结构，女性由此被视作弱势群体。随着时代变迁，印度社会不断进步，如今已出台多项法律法规，旨在为女性提供权益保障并赋予其特殊地位。印度司法体系与金融体系亦配套制定了专项法律条款，以推动女性群体的发展与进步。2013年8月，印度公司法史迈入全新纪元：2013年8月29日全新《公司法》的颁布，成为印度企业发展历程中的里程碑事件。该新法新增了女性董事相关条款，为董事会管理注入了全新的理念与视野。《2013年公司法》明确规定，所有上市公司，以及实缴股本不低于10亿卢比、或年营业额不低于30亿卢比的其他公司，均需至少配备一名女性董事。这一强制任命女性董事的要求，有望为企业治理结构带来多元化格局，并充分释放女性的治理潜能。本研究聚焦于新《公司法》实施前后，部分选定的私营与公立银行董事会中的女性代表问题，旨在对比分析此类银行的董事会构成情况，以及女性董事在相关银行董事会中的地位变化，以此展现企业法律变革带来的实际影响。