Share of female board chairs at top 100 SGX listcos edges up to 10%: diversity council

[SINGAPORE] Even as the proportion of female board chairpersons among the biggest Singapore-listed companies rose to 10 per cent in 2025, the Council for Board Diversity (CBD) is exploring other aspects of diversity including directors’ skills and experience.

This proportion of female board chairs is an improvement over the 8 per cent seen in the previous year, said the council on Friday (May 8).

The increase was among the top 100 companies by market capitalisation with a primary listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). It signals “meaningful progress beyond representation as more women take on board leadership roles that shape board agenda, decision-making and governance outcomes”, the council added.

Established by Singapore’s Ministry of Social and Family Development in 2019, the council promotes board diversity as a driver of effective governance and long-term business value.

“Greater diversity on boards, starting with an increase in women directors, is a visible and measurable indicator of diversity,” noted Gan Seow Kee, co-chair of the CBD and chairman of Singapore LNG Corp, at a briefing on the latest statistics.

Released annually, the CBD’s statistics cover more than 1,300 organisations across Singapore-listed companies, statutory boards and registered charities.

The latest data, as at December 2025, also showed continued gains in women-held directorships across sectors – highlighting sustained progress in board gender diversity.

Women now occupy more than a quarter or 25.8 per cent of board seats across the top 100 SGX primary-listed companies, up 0.7 percentage point from the previous year.

The figure surpasses the CBD’s target of 25 per cent female representation by end-2025, and was achieved a year ahead of schedule.

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Since the council began systematically tracking board composition in 2013, the proportion of women directors in these bigger companies has increased by more than 18 percentage points.

Between 2021 and 2025, the share of unique women directors increased from 14.2 per cent to 19.1 per cent at SGX-listed companies, and from 19.3 per cent to 25.6 per cent at the top 100 primary-listed firms on the local bourse.

At the same time, the average board load for women directors remained steady at 1.2 board seats per person, which the CBD said suggests that progress is being driven by “a wider pool of women board practitioners rather than repeat appointments”.

Encouraging first-time women directors

Gan said that progress in female board leadership would take time, as board chairs are typically appointed from among experienced directors rather than first-time appointees.

He explained that the process begins with individuals serving on boards and gaining experience over time. From there, they may go on to chair board committees.

CBD closely tracks nominating committees, he added, given their important role in bringing in the next tranche of women directors.

“The good progress in the overall percentage of women directors on boards will, over time, start to manifest in a growing percentage of women chairing committees and then chairing the board itself,” said Gan.

However, the latest CBD statistics also showed a sharp drop in the proportion of women among first-time directors, falling from 26 per cent in 2024 to 14 per cent in 2025.

Gan cautioned against over-interpreting short-term fluctuations in the data. “We should be looking at the data over time (as) there are many things that can drive a particular year’s data point,” he said, adding that CBD will be concerned only if the trend persists. Such variations can occur in years when more directors retire.

To support first-time women directors, the council said it introduced an “Ask Me Anything” initiative last year. The programme features small-group, closed-door discussions where newer directors can seek advice from experienced board leaders on challenges encountered in the boardroom.

Beyond gender diversity

CBD’s focus on diversity extends beyond gender.

“We are placing growing emphasis on other dimensions of diversity, such as skills and experience on the board,” Gan added.

CBD co-chair Goh Swee Chen, who is also chairman of the Nanyang Technological University board of trustees, said discussions at the council have gone beyond gender to broader aspects of diversity.

For example, CBD is looking at nationality given that many Singapore companies operate internationally and therefore benefit from directors of different nationalities.

Age diversity is also increasingly discussed, though board composition must balance practical considerations such as time commitment, as full-time executives may find it challenging to attend multiple board meetings.

“These are some trade-offs we need to consider, so boards have a mix of full-time executives and retirees,” she noted.

When asked whether CBD would consider ethnic diversity, as in some countries where data on racially and ethnically diverse board directors is reported, Gan told The Business Times that ethnicity falls within the broader spectrum of diversity under CBD’s consideration.

“We are not seeking total targets in this area (as) it is also a function of the nature of the business that the organisation is in,” he said.

He explained that for some companies, both ethnicity and nationality are important because they reflect the markets they operate in and should be represented at board level.

Co-chair Goh added that the council’s focus remains on expertise, international representation and maintaining an appropriate age balance among directors.

“These already give us some good measures for diversity without needing to emphasise on ethnicity,” she said.