Singapore’s Board Gender Diversity Improves After Pandemic Setback

(Bloomberg) -- The representation of women on the boards of Singapore’s largest companies has improved over the past year, and it’s a whisker away from hitting a diversity target that was previously set.

Women’s participation on the boards of the 100 largest companies listed on Singapore’s exchange increased to 19.7% as of Jan. 1, with more than 30 women directors being appointed since end of 2020, according to the Council for Board Diversity. That’s up from 17.6% at end-2020 -- shy of the council’s target of 20% by that timeframe -- with board diversity cited previously by firms as taking a backseat to combating Covid-19.  

Among companies that made the most progress, the council highlighted SATS Ltd. and Far East Hospitality Trust for getting women to account for half of board seats at the end of last year, compared to zero in 2013. The number of all-male boards among the top 100 companies remained roughly unchanged at 17 in 2021 versus a year ago, the data show. The picture at government-linked companies is more encouraging, with almost 30% of their boards made up of women as at Dec. 31 last year, compared to 27.5% a year before. 

The Southeast Asian city-state also made some strides in the appointment of more independent directors as the exchange attempts to improve governance at local firms and foster a larger pool of board talent. The percentage of board appointments who were first-time directors reached 59% in 2021, the highest since tracking began in 2015.

Still, Singapore companies remain behind their developed-market peers in terms of female representation on boards. An average 27% of the board members of MSCI World Index companies were women as of end-2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For its biggest firms, the Singapore-based council has set a target of achieving 25% of women’s participation on boards by the end of 2025 and 30% by end-2030.  

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