IIM Kozhikode and Emeritus Launch Women Leadership Programme to Bridge the Gender Gap in Corporate Leadership

Bengaluru, January 23, 2025: Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK), ranked #3 in NIRF India Rankings 2024 for Management, in collaboration with Emeritus, a global leader in accessible and affordable high-quality education, has announced the launch of its 10-month Women Leadership Programme. The programme aims to address the persistent gender gap in leadership roles across corporate India by equipping women with critical leadership skills, strategic insights and the confidence to break the glass ceiling to excel in C-suite and board-level roles.

According to the KPMG Women Leadership in Corporate India Report 2024, women hold only 23.2% of leadership positions in Indian corporates, while less than 12% of CXO roles and just 1.6% of Fortune 500 leadership positions in India are held by women. Furthermore, less than 30% of women in entry-level positions progress to senior leadership roles, highlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions to address systemic biases and foster inclusive workplaces.

To drive a shift in leadership dynamics and ensure more women leaders step into decision-making roles, the IIM Kozhikode’s Women Leadership programme is uniquely tailored for mid and senior-level women professionals. The programme focuses on fostering resilience, cultivating ethical leadership, and building high-performance teams. It blends live interactive sessions led by IIM Kozhikode faculty, workshops on strategic negotiation, design thinking, and digital transformation, along with capstone projects, providing participants with a real-world, hands-on learning experience. These elements are designed to address the challenges women face in leadership roles, making the programme not just a career accelerator but also a platform for driving meaningful change in organisations and society.

Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM Kozhikode, commented, "Leadership is about breaking barriers and reshaping narratives. Through this programme, we aim to empower women to bring their unique perspectives to leadership roles, enabling transformative changes across industries and organisations."

Speaking about the collaboration, Avnish Singhal, Executive Vice President (India & APAC), Emeritus, "This partnership with IIM Kozhikode recognises the growing number of women eager to pursue leadership roles and the need to equip them with the right skills. At Emeritus, we are taking a significant step towards making this vision a reality, fostering a generation of women leaders who are poised to reshape the corporate landscape.”