Women occupy just 7% of executive roles across 121 unicorns in India: Report
In boardrooms and leadership meetings across India's
unicorn
ecosystem, a pattern continues to emerge. Startups may have reshaped industries and created new opportunities, but the representation of women at the top remains weak.
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According to an analysis by staffing consultany Longhouse, women make up a meagre 7% of executive roles across 121 unicorn startups in India. This includes founders, cofounders, chief technology officers, chief information officers, etc, who shape high-level tech strategy and decision-making.
'The issue of low female representation starts with the talent pipeline, which is limited due to low female enrolment in engineering education. Startups get a small pool to begin with,' Rohit Srivastava, senior partner at Longhouse, said.
Most of the female talent, about 79%, seems concentrated in mid-senior level positions like heads and directors, contributing to execution and team management.
'The transition from middle management to CXO roles often demands sponsors — not just mentors — who advocate for women at decision-making tables,' Priyanka Chopra, managing partner at seed investment firm IIMA Ventures, told ET. 'Also, the demands of leadership can sometimes be harder to navigate alongside the broader societal expectations still disproportionately placed on women,' she added.
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A smaller segment of 14% holds vice president and senior vice president positions, overseeing major tech functions and strategic initiatives.
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Ruchi Kalra, cofounder of two unicorns, OfBusiness and Oxyzo, said the situation is much better than when she started her entrepreneurial journey two decades ago, in terms of women at middle and senior levels.
'More structured programmes in existing organisations, where venture capitalists and private equity investors are active, and more rounded leadership development programmes will nurture middle-level talent to rise to leadership positions in the coming five years. So, we mustn't lose this talent now that we have raised them up in organisations,' Kalra said.
The report also notes that the youngest unicorns in India, those founded between 2020 and 2024, have the weakest representation of women in top leadership roles, with female professionals occupying about 1% of senior positions.
During this period, 87 startups became unicorns. In 2020, 12 companies attained a $1-billion valuation, followed by 45 in 2021 (a record high), 22 in 2022, two in 2023 and six in 2024.
Companies founded between 2008 and 2013 have the highest share of women CXOs, at about 49%.
In terms of functions, women tech leaders are majorly in product roles, indicating strong representation in product strategy, management, and development. This is followed by engineering (33%) and design (13%). Artificial intelligence (AI) and data science roles, which have seen a surge in the job market in the past few years, see a mere 4% presence of female talent.
Srivastava said AI jobs are new, so the talent pool is limited as of now, and may not necessarily suggest a gender-based bias.
Chopra hypothesised that product management is cross-functional and user-centric, which values not just technical skills but also empathy, collaboration, and communication — areas where many women excel. 'In contrast, fields like engineering, AI, and data science continue to have heavily male-dominated talent pipelines starting right from the undergraduate level,' she said.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and deep tech startups lead the way with about 31% of top tech roles occupied by women. Ecommerce and direct-to-consumer startups follow at 28%, and fintech at 17%.
The report also reveals that about 40% of women tech leaders have no prior startup experience and about 15% have a moderate 1-3 years of experience in the ecosystem.
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