KUALA LUMPUR – The 30% Club Malaysia, a global campaign to increase women representation on boards of directors and C-suites, observes that more organisations in Malaysia have embraced gender diversity on these boards, an integral component of good corporate governance.
In a statement, co-founding chair Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar said statistics at the end of 2019 showed women representation on the boards of the top 100 public-listed companies’ (PLCs) rose to 26.9%, almost double what it was in 2015.
However, she said the percentage today has dipped slightly to 25.4%, believed to be largely attributed to the change in the composition of the top 100 companies, with several of these PLCs now having no women on their boards.
The 30% Club hopes this is a temporary setback and will work towards helping to address the gap.
Nevertheless, said Zarinah, Malaysia remains in the leading position among its peers in Asean.
The country also ranks second only to Australia in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Women representation on the boards of all the 900+ PLCs has also steadily increased to 17.2%, an increment of 6.5% from 2015,” said Zarinah.
“The road to achieving 30% women on boards has not been easy. The 30% Club Malaysia, through its Board Mentoring Scheme, has helped develop a broader pipeline of board-ready women candidates to be considered for those positions,” said PwC Malaysia partner and 30% Club Malaysia steering committee member Pauline Ho. – Bernama, November 18, 2020
