CBD PRESS RELEASE
President Halimah Yacob urges organisations to leverage board gender diversity to maximum advantage at Council for Board Diversity anniversary event
Singapore, 30 August 2023 – Speaking as Guest-of-Honour at the Council for Board Diversity’s 5th anniversary event and forum, President Halimah Yacob called on companies and charities to draw on board diversity to navigate uncertain and complex times. The opportunity presents itself with recent amendments to Singapore Exchange (SGX) listing rules and the Code of Governance for Charities and Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs), respectively, which give emphasis to diversity in board composition.
“Any organisation, whether it is a large business or a charity, needs to make diversity, particularly gender diversity, a core consideration when refreshing the board. Otherwise, a company misses out on harnessing talent as a competitive edge, and a non-profit risks losing its connection to the communities it serves. More than a moral obligation, women in leadership is simply an expected norm today,” said President Halimah Yacob, Patron of the Council for Board Diversity (CBD), during a 30-minute fireside conversation with Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Social and Family Development & Home Affairs, during which she shared leadership insights.
Women’s participation on boards is also a barometer of the extent our society values the contributions of women and whether these contributions are viewed as being equal to those by men. Meritocracy and diversity can co-exist. It’s not carving the pie but growing the pie of board directors. Being deliberate in tapping the widest possible pool of candidates enhances the odds of an organisation finding the best qualified and suitable leaders to contribute to their future strategy,” President Halimah Yacob also said.
An all-women panel comprising Prof Cheong Koon Hean (Chairman, Centre for Liveable Cities), Ms Chew Gek Khim (Executive Chairman, The Straits Trading Company Limited), Ms Geraldine Chin (Chairman and Managing Director, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific), Ms Euleen Goh (Chairman, Sats Ltd) and Ms Diaan-Yi Lin (Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company) also drew on their valuable experiences in executive and board leadership for an hour-long discussion on harnessing board diversity for robust governance, responsible stewardship, and as a valuable driver for growth.
“It’s no coincidence that all of today’s speakers are women. It reflects Singapore’s expanding talent pool of women who have risen to the highest rungs of leadership within their fields. Their generous sharing on leading organisations in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world offered invaluable takeaways for leaders,” observed, Mr Loh Boon Chye, Co-Chair, CBD and CEO, SGX Group.
“As the most visible form of diversity, gender offers a powerful and accessible lead-in to conversations on broader diversity. Boards with diverse competencies and backgrounds that suit the ambition and development of the organisation provide themselves an edge when addressing a range of issues,” he added.
Held at the Shangri-La Singapore, the CBD 5th Anniversary event and forum was attended by 160 board chairpersons and women board directors representing top 100 companies on the Singapore Exchange, statutory boards, and the nation’s 100 largest IPCs.
The event is the first of the CBD Circle, the Council’s new outreach programme to encourage Singapore’s board diversity. Still in its pilot phase, CBD Circle offers thought leadership and networking opportunities for both board decision-makers and board-ready candidates to facilitate a sustained increase in women directors and the adoption of broader diversity. Initial activities will grow the participation in preparation for the Circle’s launch and a board diversity summit slated for late 2024.
State of Board Gender Diversity in Singapore
Urging organisations across the business, public service and charity sectors to maximise board diversity in this fast-changing world, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat, said: “In a more complex and fast-changing environment, boards with a diversity of expertise, skillsets and perspectives can provide better strategic oversight and more robust governance to the organisations they serve. I strongly encourage more organisations to draw on our impressive pool of women leaders in Singapore, and bring together the experiences and expertise of capable men and women for more effective decision-making, risk management and governance.” DPM Heng attended an anniversary luncheon for Council members and panellists directly after the forum.
After five years of CBD advocacy, Singapore is beginning to observe progress in the proportion of women’s participation on boards (WOB). The Council’s mid-year statistical update shows the top 100 companies listed on SGX making headway towards the 25% voluntary target set for the sector, having grown from 15.2% at end-2018 to 22.7% as at June 2023. But of the top 100 companies, 13 continue to be led by all-male boards. The overall uptick in board diversity is the result of CBD’s multi-stakeholder approach, recent regulatory amendments introduced by SGX to promote board renewal and diversity, and the global shifts in business environments, including recognition of environmental, social and governance factors in creating enterprise value.
Mrs Mildred Tan, Co-Chair of CBD and Chair of Tote Board Singapore, observed: “With more widespread recognition of the benefits board diversity brings to an organisation, efforts can now extend beyond advocating for an increase in women board directors, to them taking on leadership roles within boards. At present, only 9% of boards at top 100 companies are chaired by women, and women sit on less than a quarter of all audit, nominating and remuneration committees. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that boards with women in leadership positions are more likely to harness diversity as a business imperative.”
In the public sector, the proportion of women’s participation on boards of statutory boards has reached 32%, having made swift progress from 23.3% at end-2018. Demonstrating their unique position to exemplify diversity at board level, it was the first sector to meet its voluntary 30% target in 2022.
Meanwhile, the 100 largest IPCs continue to be just short of their 30% target with 29.5% of board seats held by women, an increase of only 2 percentage points since 2018. However, regulatory guidance in the revised Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs, which takes effect from the financial year beginning on or after 1 January 2024, is expected to give impetus to succession planning and the consideration of board diversity.
“Diversity has a different magnitude of importance for IPCs as it reflects the inclusivity that the charity sector seeks to encourage. While there has been progress made by IPCs in addressing diversity in board composition, we hope more women can be tapped on for IPC boards. IPCs will be better able to serve their communities and enhance governance by ensuring a diverse mix of board members,” Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Social and Family Development & Home Affairs shared.
The Council for Board Diversity
“Moving the needle on diverse leadership is the responsibility of the entire corporate governance eco-system. Diversity is a globally recognised attribute of progressive boards. And importantly, the spirit of increasing board diversity lies in its ability to improve objectivity, address complex issues, and enhance innovation,” added Mr Loh Boon Chye.
Established by the Ministry of Social and Family Development in 2019 under the patronage of President Halimah Yacob, CBD spearheads efforts to encourage organisations across the private, public and people sectors on their journey of leveraging board diversity for business value. The Council recognises the value of having a range of diversities on boards with the contribution of women – the most visible and measurable aspect of diversity – a powerful lead-in to the consideration of other diversities.
Where other jurisdictions have implemented gender quotas to swiftly ensure gender parity on boards, the Council believes that quotas alone do not guarantee ensuing benefits. CBD instead concentrates efforts on engaging market participants on harnessing the benefits of cognitive diversity for board performance. “When organisations willingly embrace board diversity, they’ll likely invest more effort in ensuring a culture that values and maximizes the contributions of all, than if numbers were met simply for compliance,” said Mrs Mildred Tan.
CBD builds on the work of the Diversity Action Committee (DAC) (2014 – 2018) and the Diversity Taskforce regarding Women on Boards (DTF) (2012 – 2014). Prompted by the concern that women continue to be under-represented on boards despite making immense progress in education and in management roles, DTF was initiated by Mdm Halimah Yacob during her term as Minister of State for Social and Family Development to examine the state of gender diversity on boards of SGX-listed companies.
The 17-member Council for Board Diversity comprises eminent corporate leaders and professionals with a diverse and strong slate of management and board expertise across the business, people, and public sectors.
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