Singapore's Push for Boardroom Diversity Expands Beyond Gender

Younger directors, those with different expertise are also being encouraged

- Sue-Ann Tan

In the latest report by an advocate for board diversity in Singapore, a small note shows that a 21-year-old sat on the board of a non-profit organisation in 2024.

Still, at 56, the average age of board members of 683 registered charities designated as institutions of a public character (IPCs) here is not far off the average of 59 among all companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

But the focus on such numbers in the report by the Council for Board Diversity, which looked at the boards of companies, IPCs and statutory boards, reflects the attention to factors beyond gender.

In an interview with The Straits Times, the council's co-chair Goh Swee Chen said: "When the council first started, the focus was on gender. We recognise that the work there is not completely done yet... but we also want to expand the definition now beyond gender, to look at other aspects of diversity."

The council, which now has 13 members, was established by the Ministry of Social and Family Development in 2019 to promote greater diversity on boards across the private, public and people sectors, with a target to have a minimum of 30 per cent women directors.

For listed companies, the timeframe to achieve this voluntary target is 2030.

In 2024, women comprised 25.1 per cent of the boards of the top 100 companies listed on the SGX mainboard, the council report in May showed, up from 16.3 per cent in 2019.

Efforts to raise gender diversity on Singapore boards have continued despite the recent backlash in other countries against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, Ms Goh said alongside her co-chair, Mr Gan Seow Kee.