MSCI has released its Women on Boards and Beyond Progress Report 2024, highlighting notable advancements in gender diversity across corporate boards globally. The report, which has been tracking board gender diversity since 2009, shows that women now hold 27.3% of board seats at publicly listed large- and mid-cap companies worldwide, marking a 1.5 percentage point increase from the previous year.
In the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, significant progress has been made, with Hong Kong and Singapore eliminating all-male boards in 2024. Japan also saw a reduction, with only one all-male board remaining. Moeko Porter, APAC Corporate Governance Research Lead at MSCI, noted that 11 out of 13 APAC markets covered by the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index experienced an increase in companies with at least 30% female directorships.
Despite these gains, the report highlights a decline in female representation at the CEO and CFO levels in APAC, with a decrease of 0.2 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively. However, New Zealand, Japan, and Hong Kong recorded increases in female CEOs, whilst Thailand, Malaysia, and New Zealand saw rises in female CFOs.
The report also emphasises the importance of nomination committees in shaping board composition. In APAC, only 18.1% of companies had nomination committees chaired by women, compared to 26.3% globally. Porter stated, “Nomination committees can be pivotal in shaping board composition.”
MSCI’s findings suggest that companies with at least 30% female directors achieved cumulative returns 18.9% higher than those without, indicating a positive correlation between gender diversity and financial performance. As gender diversity continues to improve, the report underscores the ongoing challenges in achieving balanced representation in leadership roles.
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