As India’s construction and real estate sectors evolve, a key priority remains clear: recognizing, developing, and elevating women into strategic leadership roles shaping the industry’s future.
India’s built environment, spanning real estate, architecture, engineering, construction management building tech etc is undergoing rapid transformation. Increasing project complexity, technology adoption, and sustainability priorities are driving a need for broader, more dynamic leadership
While women are already contributing across all disciplines, expanding their representation at senior decision-making levels presents a powerful growth opportunity for the entire sector.
An industry of scale, with room for greater representation
India’s construction industry is one of the country’s largest economic contributors. The construction sector accounts for roughly 9% of India’s GDP and employs ~71 million people (ILO). However, women comprise only 12% of the workforce, with just 2% occupying senior management positions. Similarly, a report by JLL and NAREDCO MAHI estimates that women make up 10% of the real estate workforce and hold only 1–2% of top leadership roles.
Across both studies, the takeaway is clear: while participation varies across real estate, architecture, engineering, construction management, building tech, and consulting, women remain significantly underrepresented at the highest leadership levels.
The strategic value of Leadership Diversity
Elevating women to executive decision-making roles is a core commercial strategy that directly impacts firm performance, governance, and enterprise value.
- Capital Allocation & Performance: Diverse C-suite and board teams bring broader perspectives to high-stakes capital decisions, driving more rigorous risk management and stronger P&L outcomes.
- Investor Confidence: Institutional capital and PE funds increasingly evaluate ESG and board governance when deploying funds. Gender-balanced executive teams signify institutional maturity and lower governance risk.
- Pipeline Resilience: Actively placing women in VP and C-suite roles solves the sector’s acute leadership shortage, building resilient pipelines for rapidly scaling enterprises.
Moving beyond boardroom compliance to Substantive Leadership
While statutory mandates under the Indian Companies Act ensure that over 95% of listed companies have at least one woman director, true progress requires moving beyond baseline compliance.
In India’s real estate and infrastructure sectors, women hold fewer than 5% of executive board seats and Board Chair positions. The mandate for industry growth is shifting from symbolic presence to placing women in core decision-making roles such as Executive Directors, Committee Chairs, and P&L Heads where they exert direct strategic influence over business operations and capital deployment.
From professional expertise to Business Leadership
Despite structural gaps, women are actively managing complex engineering assignments, overseeing real estate portfolios, leading architectural practices and directing operations across construction & EPC, project delivery, building tech and corporate real estate.
Women making the transition from core functional specialties into P&L ownership and broader operational leadership bring vital, end-to-end perspectives that drive resilient and scalable growth across modern real estate and construction enterprises.
Broadening the Lens in Leadership Search
Executive search plays a critical role in unlocking hidden leadership talent. Overly rigid candidate criteria often lead organizations to overlook highly capable leaders with non-traditional career paths. By evaluating transferable capabilities and proven leadership outcomes over rigid titles, companies can unlock a broader pool of experienced women ready for strategic leadership.
Encouraging signs of progress
Leading organizations across the sector are demonstrating tangible progress. Many companies in the Indian built environment sector are championing gender diversity mandates and inclusive hiring to create clear leadership pathways for senior women talent.
Industry networks and professional bodies including CREDAI Women’s Wing, NAREDCO MAHI, CREW India, WiREnet are further driving systemic change. Through mentorship, specialized training, and DEI standards, they establish a supportive framework for women to advance into executive decision-making roles.
The Buildkonnect perspective
At Buildkonnect, we believe the future of India’s built environment will be defined by organizations that evaluate leadership through a broad, capability-focused lens. Through sector-focused leadership search and talent mapping, we partner with industry leaders to identify, engage, and elevate high-performing women leaders capable of navigating complex business environments.
Looking ahead
Expanding women’s leadership in India’s built environment unlocks new capabilities, diverse perspectives, and sustainable business growth
Creating more opportunities for capable women to lead businesses and shape key decisions is a future worth building together.
Research sources and references
- International Labour Organization, CII and Employers’ Federation of India (2025). Beyond Barriers and Biases – Engendering the Indian Construction Industry.
https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/creating-opportunities-women-construction-india-call-action - JLL and NAREDCO MAHI (2026). Building Inclusive Future: Empowering Women in India’s Real Estate Transformation.
https://www.jll.com/en-in/insights/building-inclusive-future - Tata Projects (2024). Building a Diverse Future.
https://www.tataprojects.com/web/node/2997 - Journal of Civil Engineering Education (2026). Factors Influencing the Professional Lives of Women Civil Engineers in India: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.
https://ascelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1061/JCEECD.EIENG-2397