More Malaysian stakeholders, including the Malaysian chapter of the 30% Club, are shifting their focus to the top 101-300 companies in order to increase the number of women in board membership. It has been shown that very often 30% is deemed the threshold or critical mass when contributions from members of a minority group are valued in their own right. Good corporate decision making requires the ability to consider different viewpoints which come from a board that is inclusive – including women – by bringing to the table diversity in terms of skill sets, background and experience. In Malaysia, there is still a lot to be done given that across the board, the 30% Club’s goal of having 30% women on boards of listed companies stood at a mere 15% as of June 30. A recent study by the World Bank Research Group on the subject of women on boards in Malaysia shows the country still has to play catch-up given its current across-the-board performance of 14.6% is below the global director universe average of 15% (but above the Asia-Pacific average of 13%). The general findings by the World Bank Research Group are:

1. The finance industry stands out for its high proportion of female board members and the plantation industry for its low proportion;
2. Large firms in Malaysia tend to have proportionately more female board members than small firms;
3. The profit rate is significantly positively correlated with the presence of female board members; and
4. Annual sales growth rate for firms with a female board member is higher than firms with all-male board members (though the difference is not statistically significant).

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Focus Malaysia