CARS24 CEO Vikram Chopra has acknowledged the lack of women in senior leadership roles at the company, revealing that none of its director-level positions are currently held by women. His remarks came in a post on X ahead of International Women’s Day, where he openly discussed the gender imbalance within the organisation.
Sharing internal workforce figures, Chopra noted that the company employs 6,803 people in India, of whom 951 are women — about 14 per cent of the workforce. However, he pointed out that the disparity becomes more pronounced at senior levels, particularly at the director level, where the company currently has no female representation.
CEO calls it a ‘system problem’
In his post, Chopra reflected on the numbers and said the issue goes beyond hiring. While the company has seen relatively better representation of women at entry-level roles, he said many women do not continue into higher leadership positions.
“Cars24 has 6,803 employees in India but only 951 are women. That’s 14%.
At Director level (B6): zero women. Not low. Zero.
I’ve been sitting with this number for a few days.
We do hire women. Entry-level representation is meaningfully better. But somewhere between mid-management and senior leadership, we lose them. That’s not a pipeline problem. That’s a system problem.
Culture is not what you say on your careers page. Culture is who grows here. Culture is who gets promoted. Culture is who stays.
If there are no women at Director level, I have to ask myself an uncomfortable question: what have we built — unintentionally or otherwise — that makes it hard for women to lead at scale?
I don’t have a clean answer. And I’m not interested in easy ones.”
Chopra said he plans to gather insights directly from women leaders to understand the barriers that may be preventing them from advancing into leadership roles within organisations like CARS24.
Plans to host roundtables with women leaders
To address the issue, the CEO said he would organise a series of small discussions with women leaders from various sectors. The sessions, which will be held both virtually and in person, are aimed at gathering candid feedback on workplace culture, leadership environments and structural challenges.
“So ahead of Women’s Day, I’m doing something simple: listening.
If you’re a senior woman leader — in tech, ops, product, business, or any field-heavy environment — I’d genuinely value your perspective on three things:
→ What would need to be true for you to seriously consider a company like ours?
→ What makes a leadership culture feel enabling rather than exhausting?
→ What structural changes actually move the needle — not just on hiring, but on retention and promotion?
No polished answers needed. Honest ones only.”
He also invited women leaders to participate in discussions about how companies can improve retention and promotion opportunities for women.
“Over the next few weeks, I’ll be hosting small roundtables, virtual and in-person with women leaders across industries. The goal isn’t to check a box. It’s to listen, learn, and redesign parts of our system that clearly aren’t working.
DM me/comment here if you’d like to participate. Or if you’d rather share privately, that works too.
We cannot build a category-defining company if leadership looks like a narrow slice of society. Talented women shouldn’t just join Cars24 , they should rise here.
This one is on me.”
The post sparked conversation among users online, with several offering suggestions on how organisations can better support women in leadership roles.
One user suggested reviewing workplace processes and feedback mechanisms to understand why women may leave or struggle to progress. “Some HR lens ideas: diagnose where you are losing women at mid-level. Use exit interview data, plus anonymous feedback and “stay interviews” with women still here (what’s blocking growth, what’s exhausting, what would make them stay). If you can, also survey women who’ve left.”
Another user pointed to perceptions around leadership that can disadvantage women. “The problem is most have a fixed image of what a leader looks like, and for most, women don’t match it. So even when they outperform, they still have to outperform the perception.”