Women representation on top 100 PLC boards rises to 26.9pct

KUALA LUMPUR: More organisations in Malaysia have embraced gender diversity on boards, according to the 30% Club Malaysia.

Co-founding chair Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar said women representation on the top 100 public listed companies (PLC) boards had risen to 26.9 per cent in 2019, almost double what it was in 2015 when the Malaysian chapter of the 30% Club was established.

“There was also no all-male board in the Top 100 PLCs,” she said in a statement today.

Statistics from 30% Club showed that the percentage today had dipped slightly to 25.4 per cent, mainly attributed to the change in the composition of the Top 100 companies, with several PLCs now in the Top 100 having no women on board.

Zarinah said Malaysia remained in lead position among its peers in Asean as the country ranks second only to Australia in the Asia Pacific region.

She said women representation on the boards of all the 900+ PLCs had also steadily increased to 17.2 per cent, from 6.5 per cent in 2015.

Zarinah was speaking at a virtual event to celebrate the completion of the fifth cohort of the Club’s Board Mentoring Scheme and the on boarding of the sixth yesterday.

The scheme, established in collaboration with PwC Malaysia in 2017, was aimed at accelerating the appointment of more women to company boards by fast tracking their acquisition of competencies and appreciation of the role and expectations of board members from advice and guidance by senior and highly experienced mentors.

Since the launch of the scheme in 2017, 48 women have gone through the nine-month mentoring program and 27 per cent have been appointed to boards of companies.

“The road to achieving 30 per cent women on board has not been easy. The 30% Club Malaysia through its Board Mentoring Scheme has helped to develop a broader pipeline of board-ready women candidates to be considered for board positions,” said PwC Malaysia Partner and 30% Club Malaysia steering committee member Pauline Ho.

She said scheme was part of 30% Club Malaysia’s effort to address the gender imbalance at the top of the corporate structure.

Source: NST