10% of CEO are women and why is that so?

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to host a group of senior women leaders at our institute. They were visiting India for a conference and decided to spend an afternoon. What was meant to be a brief visit slowly turned into a long and meaningful conversation.

Like many who come here for the first time, they noticed the peacocks in the gardens, pigeons resting along the temple dome, the stillness of the space. For a few hours, these highly accomplished leaders, women who run divisions, manage global teams and shape organisational strategy, allowed themselves to speak without the armour leadership often requires. Our conversation quickly moved from markets and strategy to something deeper: leadership itself.

Today, women are increasingly present in senior leadership roles. They lead complex functions and manage large teams and organisations often point to this as evidence that leadership pipelines are working. And in many ways they are. Yet when the conversation moves to the very top role, the CEO seat, the picture still shifts.

Globally, women hold only about 10% of CEO positions. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, economic gender parity is still projected to be more than a century away at the current pace.

While this is often discussed in terms of access or structural barriers, in my work with leaders I often see another layer. Leadership is not only an external journey. It is also an inner ecosystem. The way we relate to authority, visibility and power is rarely formed inside the boardroom. Much of it is shaped earlier through family dynamics, cultural narratives and the subtle ways we observed authority growing up.

In the Pragriti Therapeutic Coaching Program, where I work with senior leaders navigating deeper transitions, I often meet women who are already highly accomplished. Yet as they prepare for greater influence, certain inner patterns begin to surface. Early observations of power within the family, who spoke first, who made decisions, how authority was expressed, can quietly influence how women later relate to authority and visibility.

This is why the transition into the CEO role is not only about competence. It requires a deeper psychological readiness to hold power with steadiness. Many women feel that stepping into authority requires them to abandon something essential about themselves. But true leadership maturity does not require disconnecting from one’s femininity..

These reflections shaped the work we now do through Pragati, a leadership pathway at Ajanta Vihara within our ATMA-ABHAAS framework, where we support senior professionals in strengthening the inner architecture required to hold leadership.

The journey to the highest levels of leadership is rarely only about reaching a position. It is about becoming the person who can hold that responsibility with clarity and steadiness.

You can explore more about our work here:

https://lnkd.in/dbcXs6T9