We started the listing in 2003, first in India to do so. The first five editions, we had 25 winners. Till 2020, we used to take between 25 and 30 winners.
In the initial years, the listing was dominated by women bankers and promoters, and a sprinkling from the media and entertainment industry, with other sectors not seeding too many significant leaders.
As the years went by, other industries started getting in. The IT industry began to make its presence felt, and as women began to get into senior management of large organizations. Gradually, start-ups started getting in, and their investors, too. Today’s listing has a mix of various industries and personalities, and includes those directly in business and also in regulatory positions of influence. It is a brilliant agglomeration of astute businesswomen – including both promoters and professional executives.
This also meant that more and more contenders would show up for the listing each year, and it would take a huge effort to restrict that list to 25-30. In 2011, we introduced the BT MPW Hall of Fame, in which seven-time winners were placed, and they were then no longer considered for the main listing. This allowed two things: one, special recognition and stature to women who were powerful and influential for a considerable length of time. And two, it allowed us to bring in many more fresh faces in the list.
Finally, in 2021, we moved to a longer list of 52 names, including 46 from India and six female champions from overseas who are of Indian origin. This year’s India list has 17 debutants, the most in any year since the list was launched. It has broken the earlier record 16 debutants in 2013. In 2020, too, there were 11 debutants, signaling the rise of women power in Indian industry.
| No. | Year | Debutants |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004 | 9 |
| 2 | 2006 | 8 |
| 3 | 2007 | 8 |
| 4 | 2008 | 4 |
| 5 | 2009 | 6 |
| 6 | 2010 | 7 |
| 7 | 2011 | 6 |
| 8 | 2012 | 6 |
| 9 | 2013 | 16 |
| 10 | 2014 | 9 |
| 11 | 2015 | 7 |
| 12 | 2016 | 9 |
| 13 | 2017 | 6 |
| 14 | 2018 | 7 |
| 15 | 2019 | 6 |
| 16 | 2020 | 11 |
| 17 | 2021 | 17 |
Another important point of note is that this year, we have had 12 women returning to the winners’ list after a hiatus, which is the maximum in any year since the listing began. This shows that women leaders are persevering, pivoting and finding greater challenges and managing them well.
| No. | Year | Returnees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006 | 1 |
| 2 | 2007 | 1 |
| 3 | 2008 | 4 |
| 4 | 2009 | 4 |
| 5 | 2010 | 5 |
| 6 | 2011 | 8 |
| 7 | 2012 | 5 |
| 8 | 2013 | 4 |
| 9 | 2014 | 3 |
| 10 | 2015 | 8 |
| 11 | 2016 | 9 |
| 12 | 2017 | 7 |
| 13 | 2018 | 9 |
| 14 | 2019 | 8 |
| 15 | 2020 | 11 |
| 16 | 2021 | 12 |
BT’s MPW Awards is a permanent bookmark in the annual corporate calendar, and is highly regarded and coveted by women leaders all over India.
Some of the world’s leading women CEOs of their time have participated in the BT MPW awards as chief guest over the years. This includes:
Apart from the global leaders, Union ministers of the Indian government have also graced the awards.