Gender disparity: A closer look at the leadership structure at top broadcasters

New Delhi: Lack of women’s representation at the top was glaring in the face with the leadership announcement at JioStar last week, which BestMediaInfo.com highlighted as a stark reality of the media and entertainment sector despite being a soft-skill-based industry.

To get a comprehensive view of the sector, let’s examine the leadership rosters and see if the trend toward women calling the shots in the media world is changing.

At Zee Entertainment, just one woman holds the top-level role. Shyamala Venkatachalam, Chief Legal Officer at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, is the only woman leading a vertical, albeit a non-media role. 

Just like JioStar, the second line of leadership at Zee does have some female representation, with Anuradha Gudur (Chief Content Officer, Zee Telugu and Zee Cinemalu), Rituparna Dasgupta (EVP, Network Planning and Strategy at Zee Entertainment Enterprises), and Laxmi Shetty, Chief Sales Strategy and Maximisation Officer - Zee (Broadcast Partner), among the names to note. 

Sony Pictures Networks India shows slightly better gender diversity with three women in key roles at the management level. 

Manu N Wadhwa serves as Chief Human Resource Officer and Head of the Enterprise Technology Group, while Leena Lele Dutta is the Business Head of Sony YAY—though she has resigned and will remain only until the end of the fiscal year. 

Humsa Dhir is also a prominent leader as SVP & Head of PR & Corporate Communications at Sony Pictures Networks India.  

Sony’s second line of leadership has a fair share of women, including Nimisha Pandey (Head Programming, Sony SAB), Sonal Yadav (Head Programming (Non-Fiction), Sony Entertainment Television), Bharti Sharma (Head Programming (Fiction), Sony Entertainment Television), Ranjana Mangla (Head - Ad Sales Revenue, Digital Business), Geeta Prakash Rao (Head, Operations & Receivables, Sale), and Vaishali Sharma (Head Marketing, Sony SAB).

Looking at the examples above, it’s clear that the media and entertainment industry must address the root cause of the gender disparity in leadership roles. 

Why do women continue to occupy positions predominantly in the second tier, and why, even when they do reach the top, do they often not stay for long?

The issue is not a lack of talent. The real challenge lies in the lack of opportunity. These women didn’t just rise to the top by chance—they were given the opportunity, and once there, they proved their worth. 

However, this opportunity remains limited for many others in the industry, and that’s where the problem lies.