Our belief
Board diversity catalyses robust governance and responsible stewardship, and is a valuable driver for growth.
Our Belief
CBD believes that board diversity catalyses robust governance and responsible stewardship, and is a valuable driver for growth.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated fundamental shifts in business models. A surge of new technologies and digitalisation has added to changes in consumer behaviour as well as in supply chains. These shifts have fuelled a focus on how board directors, as a group, chart corporate strategy and create and preserve enterprise value.
Having diversity in the board brings together the diversity of judgement to chart the best course through uncertainty, challenge, opportunities and risks – applicable to both for-profit and non-profit organisations.
The mix of knowledge, skills, experience, gender, age and other relevant features is harnessed to devise strategy and manage its execution. Against this backdrop we believe that including women on boards, in particular, adds a powerful lead-in to the other forms of diversity that bring value to the board’s role in the organisations.
Read more about why diverse boards are crucial for organisations here.
Our Background and Mission
CBD was established by the Ministry of Social and Family Development to promote a sustained increase in the number of women directors of listed companies, statutory boards and non-profit organisations in Singapore as a stepping stone to broader diversity. President Halimah Yacob is the patron, and members are eminent leaders with strong networks across boards of the private, public and people sectors.
CBD builds on the work of the Diversity Action Committee (DAC) from 2014 to 2018 and a study by the Diversity Taskforce regarding Women on Boards (DTF) in 2012. Find out more about our journey here.
Our Approach
We support organisations in unlocking the power of board diversity.
Key things our Council does:
- Engage key board decision makers directly to advance board diversity.
- Activate board-ready women comprising C-Suite executives and professionals. We welcome you to approach CBD for guidance and recommendations of board-ready women.
- Partner stakeholders in the ecosystem, including investors, to influence and accelerate change.
- Take a broad view across public, people and private sectors, promoting consistent practices and disclosures on board diversity.
Our Views
Quotas do not guarantee ensuing benefits
We are interested in board diversity, including gender, for the benefits that it brings. Meeting the numbers does not guarantee that benefits follow.
We are investing the effort to convince key board decision-makers and market participants that organisations with diverse boards do better. In harnessing opportunities and managing risk, it is indisputible that diversity beats tunnel vision hands down.
Where organisations willingly embrace board diversity, more effort is likely to be invested in making the arrangement work well than if numbers were met for compliance without enthusiasm. Read more about quotas and targets.
Suitable women board candidates are available
Some boards’ perception of a shortage of qualified women may have been caused by (a) their preference to fill board seats through recommendation from their personal networks, and (b) their preference for experienced or older directors which limits their definition of a suitable board candidate.
Women hold a third of senior leadership roles in Singapore, a proxy for the available pool of board-ready women. This proportion is comparable to countries like Australia, US and UK, but women’s representation on Singapore boards are half of these countries’.
At the same time, we witness the increasing appointment of Singapore women to international boards overseas as they diversity.
Singapore Boards may find that the pool of candidates is much larger than expected if they look beyond traditional networks and re-examine the profile of board directors they seek.
Meritocracy and Diversity can co-exist
CBD supports merit-based appointment of board directors. Every director must possess the necessary qualifications, skills and experience to contribute to the board.
Equally, diversity has become more important than ever, given disruptions and shifts in business models.
- Look for candidates beyond personal networks and make use of other sources such as executive search firms and business network groups
- Engage in the search process at least a year or two ahead of board renewals to increase chances that the best candidates are not otherwise engaged in other commitments or have the time to de-conflict other priorities.
- Ensure that at least 20-25% of the candidates are women and aim to interview at least one woman candidate.
Boost Investor Confidence Through Diversity Disclosure
Companies disclosing their board diversity policy in the right spirit, in line with SGX Listing Rules, presents an opportunity for champions of diversity to shine and will help raise the profile of Singapore listed issuers amid the growing importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to investors.
The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted stakeholders to pay close attention to companies’ sustainability and resilience. In turn, companies have to assure stakeholders about their ability to navigate frequent change and heightened uncertainty, anticipate risks and seize new opportunities.
A diversity policy within the context of sustainability goals, not confined to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, would illustrate how the organisation’s diversity objectives interact with its other targets. Sustainability reporting is increasingly moving to defining short, medium and long-term targets and disclosing performance in relation to these targets. Measurable targets and quantitative metrics will make sustainability and diversity policies more tangible. We can expect value to be reflected in business worth.
In times of uncertainty, a broader diversity in the board is an advantage in exploring new possibilities to create business value and advance entrepreneurship. Board diversity is clearly not a matter of numbers.
Progress of Women’s Representation on Boards
Working toward parity in participation of men and women on boards in the long term, CBD introduced aspirational targets for WOB, encouraging boards on their journey to leverage board diversity for long-term business value.
Please note, slightly different targets have been set for listed companies vs. statutory boards and IPCs, based on the varied starting points in board gender diversity for the groups, and after an extensive study on feasibility.
Our Partners
We have worked with organisations who also believe in the value of diversity in boards. We would like to thank the following partners for their ongoing support, and without whom, our impact would not be as significant:
Case for Diverse Boards
How your organisation can benefit
from having a diverse board
FAQ
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