Caste Diversity in Corporate Boardrooms

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Corporate Boards in India: Blocked by Caste?

Author(s): D AJIT, HAN DONKER and RAVI SAXENA


Source: Economic and Political Weekly , AUGUST 11, 2012, Vol. 47, No. 32 (AUGUST 11,
2012), pp. 39-43
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23251799

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2005; Kohli 2007). This study is a


Corporate Boards in India preliminary attempt to understand the
influence of caste in determining corpo
Blocked by Caste? rate control in India. In the process, it
indirectly evaluates the progress made
by 60 years of affirmative action in
D A J IT, HAN DONKER, RAVI SAXENA promoting educational, job and social
mobility in the Indian society. Section 1
An examination of the caste reviews the literature on the subject.
ous ethnic and racial groups Section 2 outlines the data source and
diversity of Indian corporate
Economic disparities
brought the between vari
issue under the spot methodology. Section 3 presents the em
boards of a thousand top Indian
light globally. In India, this debate is pirical results and Section 4 summarises
companies - accounting for centred on the issue of how caste-based the conclusions.

four-fifths of market capitalisation systems foster social discrimination The term "caste" in English translates
of all companies listed in the and economic inequality (Srinivas 1962; into two distinct concepts - the varna
Beteille 1992,2012). Caste is an important and the jati (Deshpande 2011). The varna
major stock indices in India -
determinant of social, economic, corposystem divides Hindu society into four
measured by the Blau index rate and political power in contemporary distinct mutually exclusive and occupa
shows that their median score India. There are a number of studies on tion-specific varnas: brahmin (priests
caste differentials in consumption, income, and teachers), kshatriya (warriors and
for 2010 is zero, indicating that
education, occupation and developmentroyalty), vaishya (traders, merchants and
there is no diversity at all. Indian
indices (Deshpande 2011; Siddique 2011; moneylenders) and shudra1 (menial jobs).
corporate boards continue to Thorat and Newman 2007, 2010; MunshiThe operative category in India is the
remain "old boys clubs" based on and Rozenzweig 2006,2009). Meanwhile,jati which shares the basic characteris
caste affiliation rather than on there is little attention given to the influ tics of the varna but is more complex and
ence of caste on corporate boards and itshierarchical as there are more than
other considerations (like merit
network effects. The near consensus in 3,000 jatis in existence. Given the diffi
or experience). these studies is that the less privilegedculties associated with the classification
caste groups tend to be worse off thanof Hindu society based on the jati, it
others in terms of outcome indicators would be less controversial to classify
such as education level, employment, the population in India into the four
wages, consumption, etc, across India. broad varnas. In India, the term "lower
Studies have also shown that the wage caste" is used to refer to three broad
premium between non-scheduled castes/ groups which enjoy affirmative action -
tribes (scs/sts) and non-scs/sTs is around the scs, sts and Other Backward Classes
21% (Hnatkovska et al 2012). Apart from (obcs). The bottom of the social hierar
the discrimination in the hiring process, chy consists of a heterogeneous group of
the wage differentials between lower castes which were historically treated as
and forward castes, and intolerance "untouchable" - they were considered
and prejudice at work are matters of unclean and not permitted to use public
increasing concern. facilities.2 Similarly, there are also indig
Our study examines the caste-wise enous tribal groups, known collectively
composition of Indian corporate boards as the sts.
as these boards are the ultimate reposi The caste system and caste-based dis
tory of corporate power. The present crimination is officially outlawed and
study contributes to this literature by ex the government introduced "reserva
amining the caste-wise composition of tions" (the quotas imposed in govern
corporate boards in India in 2010 in ment jobs, educational institutions and
order to understand who controls corpo legislature) for the scs and sts shortly
rate India. This could provide evidence after Independence. Subsequently, the
D Ajit {dayanana@unbc.ca), Han Donker of its link with political power as many list of groups eligible for reservation was
(donker@unbc.ca) and Ravi Saxena (saxenar@ studies have shown the close and pro extended and other disadvantaged castes
unbc.ca) are associated with University of found influence of corporates in political categorised as obcs3 were added to the list
Northern British Columbia, Canada.
and economic decision-making (Gupta in 1990 based on the recommendations

Economic & Political weekly nrrn august 11, 2012 vol xlvii no 31 39

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of the Mandal Commission.4 obcs are a applicants. In addition, there could be


he analysed the effect of the possession
of such preferences among customers,other reasons for the discriminatory be
collection of caste groups that are placed
haviour like the influence of social cus
above the sc/st in the social hierarchyco-workers, and employers on black rel
in India. Although there is no reliableative wages. An employer discriminatestoms (Akerlof 1976,1980).
demographic account of the compositionagainst untouchables, women, or other These theories of labour market dis
of the lower castes (sc, st and obc) inminority members when he refuses tocrimination invariably have a micro
economic foundation and are centred on
India's population, estimates based on thehire them though they are cheaper rela
Mandal Commission put it at threetive to their productivity than the personsthe explanation of the causes for the dis
he does hire. According to Becker, thiscriminatory behaviour among employers.
fourth's of India's population.5 However,
kind of discrimination raises the em
despite 60 years of affirmative action Of the various explanations given, the
programmes in India, the socio-economic most probable are those relating to indi
ployer's costs and lowers his profits. This
vidual taste (Becker 1971), uncertainty
divide between the high- and low-casteputs him at a competitive disadvantage
relative to employers who maximise
groups persists (Deshpande 2011; Thorat in the labour market (Arrow 1972; Phelps
and Newman 2007, 2010). The currenttheir profits by hiring only on the basis
1972), social customs (Akerlof 1976), etc.
debate in India centres on whether or not of productivity per dollar of cost. Strongly
Only a few of these theories delve fur
to introduce caste-based quotas in thediscriminating employers, therefore, tend into the effects of discrimination on
ther

private sector to close the caste divideto lose out to other employers in com
the economy. The framework of Becker
(1971), Arrow (1972,1973), Akerlof (1976,
and promote inclusion and proposals topetitive industries that allow the easy
introduce sub-quotas (for the minorities)entry of new firms. 1980), and Phelps (1972) are insufficient
so as to equalise opportunities among Defending Becker's theory, Arrow to analyse caste-based discrimination.
the lower castes. (1972, 1973) defined discrimination The
in economic pursuit in the caste sys
Industrial and commercial activity terms of an employer's perception tem or is not based on individual choice.
The principle of individual choice is vio
reality. To him, employers discriminate
continues to be dominated by the vaishya
caste (Damodaran 2008). Ownership ofnot because of their "taste to discriminate"
lated in the caste system insofar as it ap
industry and trade in India has historibut because of uncertainty. Other expla points an individual to perform a task
cally been concentrated in the hands of nations
a for discrimination that do not selected not on the basis of training or
few caste groups and the top jobs weredepend on racial prejudice include imcapacity, but on the basis of the social
always kept within the "small world".perfect information as theorised by status of his/her parents. The caste system
Earlier research in India has shown that
statistical discrimination models (Phelps
also puts a low value on "physical" work,
substantial discrimination exists in the 1972). Phelps prefers to call his theory aas compared to "mental" work, with the
labour market with regard to recruit "statistical theory of discrimination".result that the dignity of physical labour
ment (Thorat and Newman 2007, 2010).Arrow and Phelps developed the theory is nearly absent in the work ethics of the
There is very little evidence on caste of discrimination on the basis of an caste system. In view of the above, a
more holistic framework needs to be
wise ownership of private enterprises. employer's lack of information about job
Available evidence shows that the sc/st
own only a small proportion of private MIRA SINHA BHATTACHARJEA AWARD
enterprises (especially in the urban areas)
and operate more household enterprises The Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS, Centre for the Study of Develop
(Thorat and Sadana 2009). Proposals Societies, CSDS) Delhi, has instituted an annual award in memory of M
for prescribing quotas in the private Sinha Bhattacharjea (1930-2009), eminent academician, noted schola
corporate sector have attracted a hostile India-China relations and also one of the founder members of the ICS.
reaction from industry and commerce.
This annual award was instituted to encourage original, insightful and well

1 Review of Literature researched writing on Chinese foreign policy by young scholars. It consists
of a cash prize of Rs. 20,000, a certificate from the Institute of Chinese
The framework most widely used to an
Studies and publication of the article in the Institute's journal, China Report.
alyse job market discrimination is Beck
Submissions can vary in length from 6000-7000 words and must be sent
er's (1957) seminal The Economics of Dis
to the Director, Institute of Chinese Studies (CSDS), 8/17 Sri Ram Road,
crimination. Becker's analysis focused
(Near Civil Lines Metro Station), Delhi 110054, by 15th November 2012 for
on the relationship between racial preju
consideration for the 2012 prize which will be announced in December
dice among whites and discrimination
against racial minorities in a competitive
2012. Scholars must be under 35 years of age (as of 31st October 2012)
model. In contrast to much of the con and have completed a Ph.D within the last five years (2007-2012). The
temporaneous literature, Becker formal jury will be drawn from the Advisory Board of China Report. Its decision
ised the definition of racial preferences, will be final and will be posted on the ICS website. Interested applicants
depicting them as an aversion to cross are directed to check the ICS website for further details.
racial interaction. Using a series of models,

40 august li, 2012 vol xlvii no 31 Rim Economic & Political weekly

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= = INSIGHT

found that educational


adopted, rather than the simplistic attainment levels
where the corporate board members
explanations offered by Beckerand median wage differentials of scs/stsnames were caste-neutral (e g, K Ram
(1971),
Arrow (1972,1973), Akerlof (1976,1980)
compared to non-scs/STs have narrowed akrishnan), we had to rely on our social
and Phelps (1972). during the period 1983 to 2004-05. networks to identify the caste category.
In their work in related areas, MunshiSuch an endeavour was not difficult as
Labour Discrimination Studies
and Rosenzweig (2009) document thethese board members occupy an impor
The economic impact of the caste lack of labour mobility in India. Most oftant place in the economic and social
system
the studies on social mobility find socialfabric of Indian society. Such cases
has been studied extensively. Examples
of studies which examine caste-based and economic mobility for lower castes torefer to approximately 15% of the board
ofextremely low (Nafziger 1975; Munshidirectors of 1,000 companies. We also
discrimination in the urban settings be
India include Lambart (1963), Morrisand Rosenzweig 2006, 2009; Deshpandecollected data on size (market capita
(1965), Lynch (1969), Banerjee andand Palshikar 2008; and Jodka 2010). lisation) and industry classification
Knight6 (1985), Barooah and Iyer7 But most of the studies in India relate to (sic code) from the database osiris so
(2005), Madheswaran and Attewell discrimination in education, employas to examine caste diversity among
(2007) and Ito (2009). These studies ment and inequality in consumption andIndian corporates based on size and
examined the extent of wage discrimi wealth between various castes. To our industrial categories.
nation faced by sc/st in the urban knowledge, there has so far been no at
labour market of India. Methodology
tempt to look into the diversity in Indian
Following the pioneering study of corporate boardrooms. That is attempted
Substantial literature has arisen using
Bertrand and Mullainathan (2004), many in this study. cross-country studies to measure the im
studies used field experiments as a tool pact of racial and ethnic diversity on the
to measure caste discrimination. The 2 Database and Methodology performance of economies and govern
study by Thorat and Attewell (2007) is ments (Alesina et al 2003 and Fearon
Database 2003; Alesina and La Ferrara 2005, for a
based on the methodology of Bertrand
and Mullainathan (2004). Based on The
the study is based on the osiris database
survey). There has also been significant
which provides information on
response to job advertisements in vari work on the effects of racial and ethnic
about
4,000 Indian firms listed in thediversity
ous major national and regional newspa Indian in the us. At the core of the
pers in India between 2005 and 2007, analysis
and overseas stock exchanges. From theis the idea that the more ethni
4,000 odd Indian firms in the
they found that the odds of a dalit appli osiris
cally divided a society, the less able is
the society
database, we selected the top 1,000
cant getting a positive response was only com to provide public services
and infrastructure
panies based on size (total assets)
0.67% of that of a upper-caste Hindu; for on a cooperative
2010.
the odds of a Muslim applicant getting basis.four
a These companies account for Instead, coalitions will form, di
response from a prospective employer fifths of the market capitalisationvided by ethnicity, which will then com
of com
was even lower (0.33%). Banerjee et al pete
panies listed in National Stock Exchange to acquire political and economic
study of software and call centres(nse) in and Bombay Stock Exchange power,
(bse)using ethnicity as the basis of
Delhi found little evidence of discrimi in 2010. The study covers bothTable private
1: Caste-wise Distribution of Indian
nation against non-upper caste (sc, stand public sector firms which Corporate
are pub Board Member (2010)

and obc) for software jobs, but signi licly listed. The data obtained from Caste Numbers %to Total
1 Forward caste 8,387 92.6
ficant (lower) call back rates for call osiris were cleaned for duplicates (same
Of which
centre jobs. Siddique's (2011) study ofperson occupying more than one posi
(a) Brahmin 4,037 44.6

white collar jobs in Chennai, India alsotion in the board using a unique (b)identi
Vaishyas 4,167 46.0
corroborated the conclusions of Thorat fier provided by the database). Similarly
(c) Kshatriya 43 0.5

and Attewell (2007). company secretaries listed as part (c)


of the
Others# 137 1.5

There are also some studies on wealth board were also removed as most of 2 Other Backward Classes 346 3.8

3 SC/ST 319 3.5


inequality between various caste groups them have non-voting status in the board
in India. Zacharias and Vakulabharanam 4 Total (1 to 3) 9,052 100.0
of the company. The osiris database
# Refers forward castes (like Syrian Christians).
(2011) study based on All-India Debt and provides names of corporate board mem
Investment Survey (aidis) for 1991-92bers, which provide the starting point of2: Caste Diversity (Blau) Index of Indian
Table
Companies - Descriptive Statistics (2010)
and 2002-03 found that forward castesour investigation. In India, the surname Blau — Caste

enjoy a wealth advantage over obc and normally refers to the caste affiliation.
Mean 0.12
scs/sts in both the rural and urban areBased on the surnames, we classified Median
the 0.00

as. The study also found a disturbing corporate board members into (a) Maximum
for 1.00

trend - that the relative median wealth ward caste (brahmins, kshatriyas andMinimum 0.00

of the rural and urban sts was lower in Std Dev


vaishyas), (b) Other Backward Classes, 0.19

Skewness 1.16
2002 compared to 1991. However, a re (c) scheduled caste and schedule tribe,
Kurtosis -0.28
cent study by Hnatkovska et al (2012) and (d) others (foreign directors). In cases
Economic & Political weekly B3Q august 11, 2012 vol xlvii no 31 41

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exclusion of those from other ethnic o.oi to 0.25 and 24.7% greater than 0.25 companies listed in the Indian stock ex
groups. The diversity index typically to 0.50. Only one company had a Blau changes for 2010. The empirical results
caste index of 1. These findings pose
used in social science and policy analysis show that caste diversity is non-existent
is known as the Blau index, which meas an important question as to whether in the Indian corporate sector and nearly
ures the probability of two individuals Indian corporate boards should reflect 65% of the Indian corporate board mem
chosen at random from the population its broad clientele (nearly three-fourths bers are from one caste group - the for
of
of different races or ethnicity. Blau (1977) the Indian population is from a ward caste - indicating that it is a small
lower caste).
proposed the measure in a study devot and closed world. In the corporate world,
ed to sociological theory. The Blau index social networking plays an important
Table 3: Caste Diversity (Blau Index) of Indian
is constructed as Corporate Boards (2010) role. Still, Indian corporate boards be
Blau Index Frequency % to Total
long to the "old boys club" based on
0 = 1-1^ 0 697 69.7
caste affiliation rather than on other
0.1 to 0.25 56 5.6
where D is diversity and p} is the propor considerations (like merit or experience).
0.26 to 0.50 246 24.7
tion of the total population from group j. It is difficult to fathom the argument
More than 0.51 1 0.0
If the entire population (in our case, the that lack of merit is the cause for under
Total 1,000 100
corporate board) is from one single representation. Caste is an important
group (caste), D will equal o. In theWe also examined the caste diversity factor in networking. The small world of
extreme case of corporate board withinaterms of industrial classification (using corporate India has interaction only
diverse caste population, D will ap the sic code of each firm) and the results within their caste kinship. This raises
proach 1 in value. So a higher D means
are provided in Annexure 1 (p 43). The important questions about the possibili
more caste diversity. industries for which we found the lowest ty of interlocking of directors within the
(below 0.10) diversity are the basic met same caste among Indian companies. Is
3 Empirical Results als, iron and steel products, rubber and this small world of corporate director
plastic products, chemicals, natural gas ships reflected in the selection of audi
This section presents the empirical results
of the study. The average board size transmission
of and construction materials. tors as well? These are some of the im
The trade and services firms generally portant questions which are in the ambit
the top 1,000 companies in India was
have a low diversity compared to the of our future investigation.
found to be nine members; nearly 88%
of them were insiders and 12% were manufacturing sector. In the area of bank
independent directors. The distribution
ing, the caste Blau index is very low. NOTES

of board members according to caste 1 Some commentators include a fifth category


4 Conclusions called Atishudra or former untouchables, see
shows that nearly 93% were forward
Deshpande (2011), p 91.
caste members; 46%, vaishya and 44%,
The present study examines the caste di
2 The term "Scheduled Caste" comes from the
brahmin. The obcs and scs/sts have versity of corporate board structures
Ninth Schedule of the Indian Constitution
a meagre 3.8% and 3.5% respectively in India based on a sample of top 1,000
which lists, for each state, the specific caste

(Table 1, p 41). This clearly shows that t — — ■ ^


the Indian corporate board consists of a CSS, SURAT IS LOOKING FOR FACULTY
small world dominated by forward castes
and lacks diversity. The Centre for Social Studies, Surat, a multidiscipiinary social science research
Table 2 (p 41) reports the diversity in institute, has been doing research with focus on development, displacement,
deprivation, marginalization, governance and civil society, public health,
dices compiled from the sample. The
environment, etc. CSS focuses largely but not solely on Gujarat.
median score of the Blau diversity index
based on the castes of the corporate CSS is looking for Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors
board members is zero, indicating that in social science disciplines. The Centre is recognised and supported by the
there is no diversity. It implies that al Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi and Government
most all corporate directors are from of Gujarat and offers UGC scales to the faculty. The Government reservation
one caste - a forward caste. The positive rules will be applicable. Women candidates are encouraged to apply. Candidates
skewness indicates that most of the having Ph.D. or equivalent qualification in social science disciplines and
valves are closer to zero rather than to experience in research may send their application with complete CV and at
least two references within three weeks of appearance of this advertisement
the average. Similar trends are visible in
to the following address: Director, Centre for Social Studies, Veer Narmad
the gender diversity index as well.
South Gujarat University Campus, Udhna Magdalla Road, Surat - 395 007.
If we examine the distribution of the
caste diversity index, nearly 70% of the Electronic version of the application may be sent to: info@css.ac.in
Indian corporates have a Blau caste in
The Centre reserves the right to consider candidates who may not have applied.
dex of zero which implies that there is
no diversity. Nearly 5.6% of the Indian | Website: http://www.css.ac.in
companies has Blau caste index between

42 august li, 2012 vol xlvii no 31 ranm Economic & Political weekly

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