The gender pay gap continues despite the unicorn founders’ median remuneration rising to Rs 1.5 crore in FY23: Exclusive Circle
According to a survey by the private market information portal PrivateCircle Research, the median compensation for Indian unicorn founders increased significantly in FY23, totaling Rs 1.5 crore. The data did, however, also show a stark gender difference, with the median income of female founders being Rs 1 crore and that of their male counterparts being Rs 1.8 crore.
The media and entertainment industry topped the rankings with a median founder compensation of Rs 3.5 crore, according to the report, which looked at the top seven sectors based on the number of unicorns from a pool of 114 firms valued at $1 billion or more. Following closely behind, with median incomes of Rs 1.9 crore and Rs 1.6 crore, respectively, were the logistics and ed-tech industries.
Although the median statistics provide a more accurate depiction of founder compensation, the investigation also revealed notable differences in typical pay. With an average founder pay of Rs 12.4 crore, the logistics industry took the top spot—possibly influenced by outliers.
When it came to average pay, the gender disparity was even more noticeable. Compared to the average compensation of Rs 8.5 crore for male founders, the average salary for female founders was far lower, at Rs 1.1 crore.A PrivateCircle Research spokeswoman said, “The lack of women directors at unicorn companies is further exemplified by the gender disparity in the Indian startup ecosystem.” We discovered that 57 Indian unicorns had no women on their boards in an investigation conducted in March 2024.
Additionally, geographical differences in founder compensation were revealed by the research. With an average and median founder salary of Rs 20 crore and Rs 3.7 crore, respectively, Pune emerged as the top paying city. This was mostly due to the FY23 compensation of Rs 200.7 crore for Supam Maheshwari of FirstCry. According to the company’s updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), Maheshwari’s total compensation was Rs 77.5 crore after his monthly compensation decreased by 49% in the first three quarters of FY24.
Although several founders, such as Rajan Bajaj of Slice, received a yearly salary of only Rs 12, the general trend indicates a notable rise in founder compensation. From about Rs 90 lakhs in FY20 and FY21 and Rs 1.2 crores in FY22, the median wage in FY23 represented a significant increase.
