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Singapore Marketing Women

Calls for more women in boardrooms made by the People’s Action Party’s Women’s Wing and BoardAgender

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By Benjamin Cher, Reporter

March 23, 2017 | 3 min read

Singapore’s ruling party, People Action Party’s (PAP) Women’s Wing and BoardAgender, an initiative of the Singapore council of Women’s Organisations are calling for more measures to increase women in senior and boardroom roles.

Calls for more female representation in Singapore boards

The two parties have set a target of at least 20% of boards to comprise of female directors by 2020 as well as revising the Code of Corporate Governance to include a “comply or explain” disclosure policy for companies on their board diversity in their annual reports.

Female representation on boards of listed companies in Singapore hit 9.7% in 2016, a jump from 6.9% in 2011.

The Code of Corporate Goverance in Singapore has required companies to consider diversity as part of their board nomination process since 2012, and in 2015 the Singapore Exchange (SGX) also issued a Disclosure Guide for listed companies, highlighting areas to address in their annual reports. However, to date, only a few have embraced those requirements, with the women representation continuing to lag behind others in the region.

The PAP’s Women’s Wing and BoardAgender are calling on the government to support professional development of women for boardroom roles as part of the SkillsFuture programme. This initiative has been successful in other countries such as Australia in increasing the number of board-ready women and minority candidates, according to the two parties.

“Women in Singapore have proven that they contribute to their families, business, society and the economy. But they have yet to be recognized for their ability to contribute at the board-level. The number of women on boards in Singapore lags behind other countries such as London and Hong Kong. This lack of progress risks Singapore’s reputation as a leading business hub. More needs to be done to drive collaboration between the business community, SGX and government agencies,“ said Grace Fu, minister for culture, community and youth and chair, PAP Women’s Wing.

“There are numerous studies, both in Singapore and globally, that cite a correlation between diverse boards, (including gender diversity), and higher shareholder returns. While there’s been increased awareness of the importance of board diversity, the number of Singapore companies which are actually embracing this is small. Setting the minimum target of 20% female board representation by 2020 will help accelerate greater diversity across company boards in Singapore,” said Junie Foo, Chair, BoardAgender.

Fighting for gender equality at senior roles is not a new struggle, as the APAC region continues to struggle with the issue, even as others continue to advocate for it.

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