SINGAPORE'S top companies lag behind those in the region when it
comes to female representation on their boards, according to a
study on board diversity in the Asia-Pacific.
Released on Monday, the results of the study showed that only
6.4 per cent of the directors among the 100 largest home-grown
companies in Singapore were women. This compared to 11.2 per cent
in Australia, 8.5 per cent in Hong Kong, 7.7 per cent in Malaysia
and 7.5 per cent in New Zealand.
India, the only other Asia-Pacific economy studied, fared the
worst, with just 4.7 per cent of female directors.
Although no direct comparisons are available, United
States-based non-profit group Catalyst reported that 15.7 per cent
of the board seats in Fortune 500 companies were held by women last
year.
The study, conducted in December by executive search firm
Korn/Ferry International, was led by Associate Professor Mak Yuen
Teen of the National University of Singapore Business School. It
covered the largest 100 domestic companies by market capitalisation
in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and
Singapore.
In total, 4,630 directors holding a total of 5,335 directorships
were studied.
-- ST