New Delhi, March 7 -- India's boardrooms remain stubbornly gray, although some transformative strokes are visible. As women slowly move beyond mere presence to actively claim seats at the decision-making table, it's the smaller firms that are leading the charge.

A Mint analysis of primeinfobase.com data for NSE-listed firms, categorized into market capitalization quartiles, reveals this distinct trend. As of February 2025, the bottom quartile comprising smaller companies shows the highest share of women executive directors, at nearly 15%. In contrast, corporate giants, the ones in the top 25% bracket, have the lowest representation at nearly 8%.

Despite this disparity, there is a slow but steady progress in firms embracing women in exec...