What makes a good Board and what keeps it going? More importantly, how can be this sustained in the light of a depleting pool of talent? The answer may lie in diversity; the more varied a Board is, the better a chance it stands of being successful. At the root of any Board success is the quality of its human capital.
Broader financial expertise enables it to comply with the ever-increasing panoply of guidelines ad requirements; gender and professional diversify provide different perspectives that keep it in touch with the dynamic, ever-evolving business and commercial environment, not just at home but globally. These were the issues addressed in Building Board Capacity and Capabilities through diversity, a key panel discussion at the recent corporate board leadership symposium.
On boarding women the issue of getting more women on Boards was central to the discussion from the outset, with Johan Mahmood Merican, CEO of talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd stating that the government was particularly interested in promoting gender diversity, as to only was it 'the right thing to do, it is also an economic imperative'. Currently, only 52% of Malaysian women of working age are actually in the workforce. "Leverage on this resources," he urges. "in public universities today, the student body is almost 68% women. the future talent pipeline will have more women'.
Researched has shown that although there are more women graduates, they do not remain in the workforce, primarily due to family commitments. in some countries like Korea and Japan, however, they return to the workforce after a few years: this has not been happening in sufficient numbers in Malaysia. This has also contributed in part to the distressingly small number of women on boards in Malaysia- only about 8.6% in 2013. in the public sector, however, women hold more than 30% of decision making position. To emphasize the importance of this agenda, Bursa now requires companies to disclose their diversity policy in their annual report from 2015 onwards.
But there is only so much that official policy can accomplish. Firms themselves have to change and realize that gender diversity is beneficial, not detrimental, to the business value which can be created with a gender-diverse workforce and Board’. Stating that PEMANDU’s policy was one of inclusiveness of all regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or religion.Tengku Azian Shahriman, Director of education and human capital development of PEMANDU said that it was one of the body’s KPIs to increase women’s participation to 30% by 2016. ‘Many companies are still not convinced by the business case for having women on boards”, she said. “But there are statistics to show that companies which are diverse do perform better’.
What women bring to the table?
According to MIA figures, 50% of accountants in Malaysia are women. In many firms, including leading Malaysian bank CIMB, more than 50%of management is female. All indicators therefore point to the necessity of managing this business value. By all accounts positives to a company, Tengku Azian added. But can women in the middle management move up to the board? It is estimated that if Malaysia carried on at the present rate, women will make up 30% of boards only in 2099, according to a study done by PwC! Intervention is the key to getting numbers. “many policies pioneered by other countries, can be emulated here,” said Tengku Azian. “the 30% club’ is quite widely supported by high-profile MNCs and big-name businesses. PEMANDU will be having wider engagement and more programmers to move this agenda.
Sources: Accountant Today,Sept/Oct 2014,by Majjela Gomez
Broader financial expertise enables it to comply with the ever-increasing panoply of guidelines ad requirements; gender and professional diversify provide different perspectives that keep it in touch with the dynamic, ever-evolving business and commercial environment, not just at home but globally. These were the issues addressed in Building Board Capacity and Capabilities through diversity, a key panel discussion at the recent corporate board leadership symposium.
On boarding women the issue of getting more women on Boards was central to the discussion from the outset, with Johan Mahmood Merican, CEO of talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd stating that the government was particularly interested in promoting gender diversity, as to only was it 'the right thing to do, it is also an economic imperative'. Currently, only 52% of Malaysian women of working age are actually in the workforce. "Leverage on this resources," he urges. "in public universities today, the student body is almost 68% women. the future talent pipeline will have more women'.
Researched has shown that although there are more women graduates, they do not remain in the workforce, primarily due to family commitments. in some countries like Korea and Japan, however, they return to the workforce after a few years: this has not been happening in sufficient numbers in Malaysia. This has also contributed in part to the distressingly small number of women on boards in Malaysia- only about 8.6% in 2013. in the public sector, however, women hold more than 30% of decision making position. To emphasize the importance of this agenda, Bursa now requires companies to disclose their diversity policy in their annual report from 2015 onwards.
But there is only so much that official policy can accomplish. Firms themselves have to change and realize that gender diversity is beneficial, not detrimental, to the business value which can be created with a gender-diverse workforce and Board’. Stating that PEMANDU’s policy was one of inclusiveness of all regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or religion.Tengku Azian Shahriman, Director of education and human capital development of PEMANDU said that it was one of the body’s KPIs to increase women’s participation to 30% by 2016. ‘Many companies are still not convinced by the business case for having women on boards”, she said. “But there are statistics to show that companies which are diverse do perform better’.
What women bring to the table?
According to MIA figures, 50% of accountants in Malaysia are women. In many firms, including leading Malaysian bank CIMB, more than 50%of management is female. All indicators therefore point to the necessity of managing this business value. By all accounts positives to a company, Tengku Azian added. But can women in the middle management move up to the board? It is estimated that if Malaysia carried on at the present rate, women will make up 30% of boards only in 2099, according to a study done by PwC! Intervention is the key to getting numbers. “many policies pioneered by other countries, can be emulated here,” said Tengku Azian. “the 30% club’ is quite widely supported by high-profile MNCs and big-name businesses. PEMANDU will be having wider engagement and more programmers to move this agenda.
Sources: Accountant Today,Sept/Oct 2014,by Majjela Gomez
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