Driving gender parity in the boardroom

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 October 2024 – As more Malaysian businesses look to diversify their boardrooms, Deloitte continues driving efforts to create equal opportunities for women in key leadership roles.

Over the last few months, 29 aspiring female board members attended a series of four interactive modules as part of Deloitte’s annual Board-Ready Women Program. The program covers key areas of governance, personal attributes, leadership qualities required, and even a live boardroom simulation to help prepare them to take a seat at the table.

“Our recent Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective report showed Malaysia’s increasing progress in recent years, surpassing the average number of women on boards in Asia Pacific by approximately 13%, but the percentage of women chairing boards is nearly five times lower at 6.2%,” said Siti Hajar Osman, Deloitte Malaysia’s Board-Ready Women Program Leader. “As a catalyst for change, the Board-Ready Women program hopes to encourage other women to take the same opportunity as leaders with expansive experiences to excel in their roles as board members.”

Malaysia is one of only four emerging markets where more than 20% of the top 100 PLCs’ board seats are held by women. However, there are still many non-listed boards who have not appointed at least one female representative.

Deloitte’s report further revealed that concerted efforts from businesses across all sectors and markets are still required to more accurately reflect the societies that they operate in, despite a 4.5% increase in listed companies in Malaysia incorporating women into their boardrooms since 2021. Based on the current rate of progress, the report’s projections further revealed that it is unlikely for gender parity on boards to be achieved before 2038.

“Board diversity is essential in enhancing corporate governance, meeting evolving regulatory requirements, and driving innovation and adaptability, and it is crucial for stakeholders to work together to further bring this vision to life,” said Kasturi Nathan, Enterprise Risk Leader, Deloitte Southeast Asia. “Businesses play a key role in ensuring that all talents have equitable access to building a more sustainable talent pipeline for Malaysia’s future, regardless of gender, driving a more cohesive society with greater corporate governance.”

An initiative under the Deloitte Global Boardroom Program, the Board-Ready Women program first launched in 2023 with the aim to support efforts towards a 30% women representation on boards and equip them to be effective in their roles to promote good corporate governance. Together in partnership with BoardRoom Malaysia, Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia (ICDM), and 30% Club Malaysia, the program offers participants valuable industry insights into the latest trends, technical thought leadership, and essential soft skills to excel in the boardroom as well as exclusive networking opportunities with board decision makers, industry leaders, and knowledge partners.

To read the full report, please visit: Women in the boardroom | Deloitte Insights

Research methodology

The worldwide, regional, and country analyses are based on a dataset covering 18,085 companies in 50 geographies— more than 206,506 directorships—spanning Asia Pacific, the Americas, and EMEA. The data was collected as of 17 March 2023. Based on this data, the Women in the Boardroom publication includes global, regional and geography analysis of the progress made toward greater board diversity.

About the Deloitte Global Boardroom Program

The Deloitte Global Boardroom Program brings together the knowledge and experience of Deloitte firms around the world to address critical topics of universal interest to company boards and management. Supplementing country programs, its mission is to promote dialogue between corporations and their boards and management, investors, the accounting profession, academia, and government. In addition to the publication of thought-pieces on critical topics, the Deloitte Global Boardroom Program hosts a series of must-see webinar discussions with eminent panelists to help boards and management of global companies to stay current and challenge perceived wisdom.

To become a member of the Global Boardroom Program, click here. For more information contact globalboardroomprogram@deloitte.com.