Chinese, Hong Kong companies falling behind in appointing women to board seats, new research shows
- Report found women only accounted for 17.9 per cent of directors in the MSCI All Country Index in 2018
- Most of all-male boards were at Asian companies
Asian companies continue to lag behind in appointing women as directors, having the most all-male boards worldwide, according to new research by the investment research and index provider MSCI.
Of the nearly 2,700 companies in the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI), women held 17.9 per cent of directorships as of October last year, up from 17.3 per cent in 2017, according to the “Women on Boards Progress Report 2018” by MSCI ESG Research.
More than a fifth of companies in the index had all-male boards, most of which were in Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the report found.
Nearly a third of 92 ACWI companies in Hong Kong and 35.1 per cent of the 348 index companies in China lacked female directors, according to MSCI.
Only 12 per cent of Hong Kong companies and 11.2 per cent of Chinese companies had three or more women on their boards, the report said.
“Asset owners and managers in Asia are increasingly becoming aware of the potential impact of corporate governance factors, which includes improving diversity and female representation on corporate boards and in senior management,” Jack Lin, MSCI’s head of client coverage for Asia-Pacific, said.