Nearly two dozen women leaders on top scripting India GCC story

India witnessed a rising trend of women taking up leadership roles in global capability centres (GCCs). Many organisations chose to place women at the helm of their GCCs located in India. This move not only expanded the pool of women role models but also introduced new insights to the decision-making processes within these entities.

Nearly two dozen women leaders led the charge at GCCs. These included Lalitha Indrakanti, CEO at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Technology & Business Services India; Sirisha Voruganti, CEO & MD, Lloyds Technology Centre India; Uma Ratnam Krishnan, MD of Optum India; Mamatha Madireddy, MD and head of HSBC India Global Service Centres; Kalavathi GV, executive director and head global development centre at Siemens Healthineers; and Anuprita Bhattacharya, head of Merck IT Centre (MITC).

"Today, the rise of women leaders and their contributions, specifically in GCCs, is learly visible. Women are not just participants but increasingly became key decision-makers, driving innovation and inclusive cultures. They brought unique leadership styles that emphasise collaboration and resilience—qualities critical in today’s complex business environment," Indrakanti said.

However biases persisted. Sreema Nallasivam, the CEO of Metro Business Solution Centre (BSC), shared her experiences of facing blatant biases during the early stages of her career. She recalled an incident where a senior woman leader made a remark that highlighted the prejudices she encountered, "You're a woman, you're young. Neither one is a compliment—whether I'm a woman or young should not matter," she said. Nallasivam recounted another instance of bias, where a colleague suggested that her success was attributed to factors unrelated to her skills and qualifications. The colleague implied that "if he also wore a short skirt, he would become a director too," revealing the deeply ingrained gender stereotypes and discrimination prevalent in the workplace.

During a hiring drive, Nallasivam accompanied her team of seven direct reports, all European men over 50, on a trip to Pune. During conferences, she was frequently mistaken for the team assistant, admin assistant, or HR manager, despite her actual role. "When attending university recruitment events, people would primarily engage with her colleagues. It was implied that 'Oh, you're a woman. You should be HR; you cannot be the CEO.' So, I wear a badge which says I'm not HR,'" she added. With over 13 years at Metro, Nallasivam played a pivotal role in shaping Metro's GCC headquartered in Pune.

Despite the challenges ingrained culturally and at the workplace, women leaders continued to shine at GCCs. A Nasscom-Zinnov report showed that over the past five years, global roles in India expanded significantly, with more than 6,500 such positions now established. Interestingly, this included 1,100 women leaders holding global roles.

Karthik Padmanabhan, managing partner at Zinnov, said, "We witnessed a growing trend of women leaders in GCCs stepping into pivotal roles beyond the traditional HR or marketing domains. This shift saw women leading core engineering, innovation charters, finance charters, analytics, and serving as COE heads, overseeing operations across geographies. They seamlessly straddled techno-business functions, bringing diversity in thought and ideas," he said.

Padmanabhan said these leaders reached leadership positions based on their capabilities—their gender was incidental. "What was heartening to see was the intrinsic role modelling demonstrated by these women leaders, which was a positive sign. This was a good and healthy beginning because these women were setting the stage for what the future of women in technology would look like. This metamorphosis in the roles being modelled by these exemplary women leaders would have a lasting impact on the future of women in technology and leadership."

Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, partner at Catalincs and former CMD, Cognizant India, said women leaders helming dozens of GCCs in India would be a catalyst for more women to enter and build their careers in the technology industry. "For driving greater diversity, equity, and inclusion, what India needed was role models, and GCCs were leading the way. The fact that we had these leaders across industries—spanning manufacturing and services—would also be a catalyst for more women to pursue higher education in disciplines such as mechanical, civil, industrial, and aeronautical, which had largely been the preserve of men."