How We Did It

The 2024 edition is the 14th ranking of Fortune India’s Most Powerful Women (MPW) In Business. In fact, as opposed to lists, Fortune India’s is the only ranking of India’s Most Powerful Women. The process to identify the final list of 50 women leaders takes close to three months.

It kicks off with Fortune India’s editorial team reaching out to industry leaders, domain experts, consultants and analysts for suggestions on Indian women leaders who made a mark in business during the year. This year’s study spanned the four quarters from June 2023 to May 2024. Senior editors enlist leaders who came into prominence through their initiatives during the year, and past winners and their achievements during the year.

We also invite nominations via Fortune India’s social media handles for those who believe they have done commendable work. We seek information on three key achievements during the year; external and/or internal challenges faced during the course of these achievements; technical and behavioural attributes or past training that helped them overcome these challenges; actions that led to enhanced business performance in specific areas of business not visible in overall financial statements; their role in overall business expansion and what they are doing differently.

This exercise helps us identify a master list of over 150 women leaders. The list is narrowed to about 100 names after extensive deliberations among Fortune India’s senior editorial team and sector specialists. The criteria is to identify women who stood out for their initiatives, leadership and social responsibility during the year.

We build a detailed docket on the 100 leaders. This looks at five key parameters — their educational background and the arc of their career till now; size and importance of their business in the global economy; health and direction of the business; their social and cultural influence, and how the executive wields power.

This is where the battle to make it to the Top 50 begins in earnest. A team of senior editors deliberates and identifies the final 50. The MPW ranking this year covers women leaders of Indian origin across diverse businesses — from manufacturing, healthcare, legal services, media and entertainment to information technology and government. It includes Indian women leaders who have made it big on the global stage, first-generation entrepreneurs, technology leaders, bankers and dealmakers. That enables the Fortune India MPW ranking to be a one-stop look at how women leaders impact Indian business and economy.