S'pore-listed firms have more diverse boards now than 5 years ago: Study

Progress made in percentage of women members, but not in cultural diversity

- Sue-Ann Tan

More listed companies in Singapore now have boards comprising at least 30 per cent women, compared with five years ago, according to a new study released on Jan 20.

But the percentage of boards that have at least one-third of directors from a non-majority culture fell.

These were among the findings of the 2025 Board Diversity Index, developed by the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) with global advisory firm WTW and James Cook University.

The study found that company boards mostly have a greater mix, compared with the previous study done in 2020.

Eight attributes were monitored: age, gender, industry experience, domain or functional expertise, international experience, cultural ethnicity, board independence, and the tenure of directors.

The latest study looked at public disclosures from 553 companies, such as their annual reports, websites and director biographies, as at September 2024. These companies include real estate investment trusts and Catalist-listed companies.

SID chief executive Terence Quek said: "It is heartening to see the advancement made by companies surveyed since the last report in 2020.