BT MPW 2023: 'Important to recognise women for work than gender-specific quota,' says Nykaa's Falguni Nayar

Leading businesswomen spoke about work-life balance and presence of women directors at company's boards at the 20th edition of Business Today's 'The Most Powerful Women in Business' event in Mumbai. 

On Friday, Zia Mody, co–founder and managing partner, AZB & Partners, Kalpana Morparia, former chairperson, JP Morgan South and Southeast Asia and Falguni Nayar, CEO, Nykaa spoke with Siddharth Zarabi, Managing Editor, Business Today TV at a session titled "Women Mean Business".

"Women will grow in the space you give them. Empirical evidence suggests that if you have more than one woman in the board, the debate feels better," said Mody when asked about SEBI mandating presence of a woman director at the board of every listed company. 

"I serve on board of two global companies and there the proxy advisory firms and large institutional investors actually vote down the chairman of the nomination and governance committee if you don't have at least 30% women so far as US boards are concerned and 40% women so far as UK boards are concerned," said Morparia. 

"Nykaa has 40% women directors. It's important to recognise women for their work rather than any some gender-specific quota," said Nayar adding that the company has 47% women employees. 

With Infosys' founder Narayana Murthy recently exhorting India's youth to work 70 hours a week to take the country's economy to newer heights, a debate has ensued ever since. 

Top corporate lawyer Zia Mody also joined in on the 70-hour work week debate. “I think if you want to be a leader and make something special of your life unfortunately as a woman, you sacrifice the work-life balance. However, some balance could be achieved if one systematically plans and gets rid of all the rubbish," said Mody.

Veteran banker Kalpana Morparia said, “If life is work, there is no question of counting hours.”

Nayar said she rarely works over the weekend and that she managed to achieve a work-life balance.