Number of women on boards reaches high in 2023

The number of women directorships in Singapore Exchange-listed companies, statutory boards and charities reached a high in 2023, a study found.

- Rosalind Ang

More than half of over 1,000 organisations reviewed exceeded voluntary board gender diversity targets, and all-male boards were also on the decline.

Women’s participation on boards tripled to 23.7 per cent as at end-2023, from 7.5 per cent in 2013, in the top 100 SGX-listed companies by market capitalisation.

Statutory boards reported a nearly 10 percentage point increase from 2018 in women’s participation on boards, reaching 32.7 per cent in 2023.

The top 100 Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs) by donation receipts as at end-December 2023 recorded 31 per cent of women’s participation on boards in 2023, its highest annual growth, increasing from 29.3 per cent in 2022.

The findings are from the Council for Board Diversity’s Singapore Board Diversity Review, its annual study on gender diversity in the boardroom of companies listed on the SGX, at statutory boards and at IPCs, covering more than 1,360 organisations.

The data review, spanning from 2013 to Dec 31, 2023, was conducted in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Finance Innovation at Nanyang Technological University.

For the top 100 SGX-listed companies with a voluntary 25 per cent target of women’s participation on boards by 2025, a record 48 firms had at least 25 per cent of women’s directorships in 2023, up from 39 firms in 2022.