To emphasize the "modest but tailored" approach of the law, Ms. Mitchell notes that companies affected by the Jobs Act will add up to only 12% of exchange-listed companies, amounting to just 3% of total stock market capitalization.

WSJ: Kate Mitchell: How Silicon Valley Won in Washington

They have profiled board members of the top 1, 000 Indian firms - private and state-owned - that account for four-fifths of the market capitalisation of companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in 2010.

BBC: Why Indian boardrooms have no diversity