Singapore, more and more women in management roles

The number of women in top positions in Singapore's business world continues to increase. According to an annual study by the Council for Board Diversity, 36 percent of appointments to the boards of the 100 largest Singapore-listed companies were women in 2022, a record high and an increase from 23 percent in 2021. The influx of women follows new rules requiring Singapore-listed companies to say more about their board diversity policies. According to the CBD report, 21.5 percent of director roles were held by women at the end of 2022, up from 18.9 percent at the end of 2021. The report notes that Singapore's female "talent pool" is growing. Among all directors appointed to the top 100 companies for the first time, women account for 45 percent, up from 25-30 percent previously. Very relevant and significant numbers, but wide room for improvement nevertheless remains. More than 90% of Singapore's boards are chaired by men. In addition, only 7% of the top 100 companies have gender-balanced boards, defined as having 40-60% men or women. The influx of women on boards shows that Singapore is moving in the right direction, Mak Yuen Teen, a professor of corporate governance at the National University of Singapore, told the South China Morning Post. But the fact that there are still relatively few leadership positions for women on boards "suggests that relatively less experienced female candidates are being appointed to boards at the moment." But certainly the path Singapore and its business community is taking to ensure greater representation for women is the right one.