THE old boys' club, at least among the oil majors, is starting to make room for more women. At its annual general meeting on May 20, Royal Dutch Shell is set to bring aboard two additional female directors, including Singaporean Euleen Goh, to its board.

No window dressing, it underlines strong intent, voiced earlier by Shell chairman Jorma Ollila, that it is important for Shell to improve the diversity of its board, where women and people of different ethnicities are under-represented. It is also crucial for the group to have a director from Asia Pacific, given the region's increasing importance to its overall business, he stressed. Shell intends for a quarter of its board to be female by 2015, including the addition of a member with an Asia-Pacific background, Mr Ollila had promised back in 2012.

The latter is significant for Singapore, especially with Pulau Bukom/Jurong Island now Shell's largest manufacturing site worldwide - which is similarly the case for US rival ExxonMobil, which has ploughed billions of dollars here - and also for Asia, a region driving global economic growth. So come May, Shell will at least achieve one of its targets in having an Asia-Pacific director, and advance closer to its other target of 25 cent female board representation, in having three women among its 14 directors. Also coming aboard at Shell is Patricia Woertz, chairman, CEO and president of Archer Daniels Midland Company, who will bring with her invaluable oil industry experience from her time at Gulf Oil and Chevron.