How Indian women shatter the glass ceiling

A Brown Pundits feature

One of the commentators on this blog responded to my comment advocating for 55% female representation and leadership on the Waqf board controversy with the following:

“When you want to destroy a company from the top, you put women in the C-suite. The same logic applies here, it’s a sinister ploy.”

Presumably (and hopefully), this is simply bad banter—my British sensibilities are primed towards the funny kind. However, given the complex issues around patriarchy in Pakistan, as Omar’s recent post on blasphemy suggests, it’s important to examine this claim and set the record straight.

Rather than engaging in such cynical takes on women in leadership, let’s look at the tangible results produced by women who have ascended to leadership positions—specifically the career of Indra Nooyi, the former Indian (Tam-Bram from Chennai) CEO of PepsiCo, and how her achievements compare to those of her competitors.

• Revenue Growth: Under Nooyi’s leadership, PepsiCo’s revenue grew by 80%, while Coca-Cola’s revenue fell by approximately 9% during the same period.

• Stock Performance: PepsiCo’s stock price surged by 109% under Nooyi, far outpacing Coca-Cola’s 67% growth from 2006 to 2018.

• Healthier Product Shift: Nooyi spearheaded PepsiCo’s pivot from sugary snacks to healthier options, increasing its “guilt-free” product revenue to 45%. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola struggled to make comparable gains in the health-conscious market.

• Aspartame Controversy: Unlike Coca-Cola, which faced backlash for its use of aspartame in Diet Coke, Nooyi’s strategy reduced PepsiCo’s reliance on controversial ingredients, aligning the company more closely with evolving consumer health demands

• Environmental Advocacy: Nooyi championed sustainability initiatives, particularly around recycling, while Coca-Cola faced more scrutiny and criticism for lagging in its environmental efforts.

• Leadership Longevity: Nooyi’s 12-year tenure saw consistent growth and innovation, marked by 75 consecutive earnings beats—unmatched by Coca-Cola during the same period.

As someone of Pakistani origin, I feel a deep sense of both sorrow and frustration at the country’s current state. Yet I believe much of this misfortune is self-inflicted. India, a nation with a rich historical and civilizational legacy (see my newsletter on the Golden Road here), stands as a beacon of progress. Rather than embracing our shared heritage, many Pakistanis appear to gravitate toward cultural Arabization, often at the expense of our own historical roots.

In some ways, Pakistan seems to be sliding further into what is called the “Crescent of Chaos,” and tragically, this could be seen as a distorted realization of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal’s vision. It’s ironic that while Iqbal’s most famous poem is cherished and sung with pride in India, he remains a relatively marginal figure in much of the Islamic world, except for Iran, where his influence still endures. The real tragedy, however, lies in the trade-off Pakistan has made: instead of playing a leading role in the cultural and intellectual discourse of the Greater Indian world, the country has relegated itself to being a secondary participant within the broader Ummah.

This is not to dismiss the significance of the Ummah, but to recognize the potential Pakistan has lost by not fully embracing its rich and diverse heritage. One has to wonder—are there any Brahmins left in Pakistan at all today? The virulent Hinduphobia and suspicion toward the subcontinent’s ancient traditions have natural consequences, and the loss of diversity & excellence is one of them.