Calls for gender diversity in Singapore’s corporate leadership to evolve past box ticking

SINGAPORE companies have made impressive strides in improving women’s share of senior roles, but must do more than chase the numbers, say commentators and industry participants.

They also believe it’s time for diversity and equity to move beyond gender in the workplace, and to strive for a more just and inclusive world for other marginalised groups as well.

“We see more women in positions of leadership and in the boardroom, and there is more discussion around the issue and general acceptance that gender diversity is needed,” said Stephanie Yuen Thio, joint managing partner at boutique law firm TSMP Law Corp. “That said, I feel that a lot of it, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is still focused on getting the token female on board. To tick the box.”

Signs that the improvements are still only skin deep in Singapore become more apparent when benchmarking against other major developed markets. Valerie Mantot-Groene, regional managing director of Asean at global financial services provider Apex Group, said “there is a still a lot more work to be done” in Singapore especially when compared against Europe and North America.

“There are significant disparities between the gender diversity apparent in different industries and functional roles, (and) gender diversity and equity at the C-suite level in many sectors is still the exception rather than the rule,” she said.

Professor Mak Yuen Teen, a leading corporate governance advocate at the National University of Singapore Business School, shared a similar view. “I would say the importance of gender diversity on boards and positions of authority and influence in the developed markets has become more of a second nature (to them), as attention has been focused on it for much longer.

“In Singapore, it doesn’t come so naturally. I have on a number of occasions pointed out the absence of women in committees I am involved in, and often find that the men did not notice this.”

He said there is a relative lack of women in key leadership positions on boards in Singapore, such as board chairs, lead independent directors and audit committee (AC) chairs. He agreed with Yuen Thio’s assertion of box ticking.

“Some organisations, including listed companies, are doing it more to avoid being singled out or because they want to be seen to be inclusive – not because they genuinely believe in the benefits of gender diversity,” he said.

An area that companies seem to struggle with, in particular, is considering women for roles beyond what they have traditionally been associated with.

Yuen Thio said: “One issue that continues to stump companies is that, when they need someone technical, they are less likely to find a woman to fill that role. This is an unavoidable consequence of the business world having been male dominated for centuries, meaning there are just fewer women with specialist training to pick from.”

Yuen Thio, who chairs the board of ESR Logos Reit and is AC chair at ARA US Hospitality Trust, added that a lot of board appointees are also still being recommended by word of mouth, and that Singapore needs a more developed pool of talent. “Women need to do some heavy lifting in this area and not shy away from such roles.”

Loh Boon Chye, co-chair of the Council for Board Diversity in Singapore, and chief executive officer (CEO) and board director of the Singapore Exchange (SGX Group), said that companies would want to fill positions with the best-suited candidate, based on the needs of their businesses – and that the growing number of women on boards suggests that “organisations are increasingly recognising that meritocracy and diversity go hand-in-hand”.

Beyond gender

Mak said that studies have shown there are cognitive differences and differences in decision-making styles between men and women, on average. “If we accept that and are striving to harness these differences in the boardroom, then companies must incorporate assessments of such qualities in selecting directors.”

Aiming to bring in different viewpoints, instead of simply hitting a gender target, is a more robust way to approach diversity, Mak said: “Companies don’t generally frame a search from the cognitive diversity angle, which is what you really want in the boardroom when we seek to incorporate gender, age, ethnic and other forms of demographic diversity.

“Most companies start with skills and experience, and then layer gender diversity on top of that. The current processes will result in greater demographic diversity. But will they result in greater cognitive diversity?”

Nathalie Huynh, country human resources director for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei at Schneider Electric, a digital automation and energy management multinational that is ranked in Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index (GEI), believed that greater progress can also be made with stronger momentum and more innovative approaches from companies.

“To truly bring women from diverse backgrounds into the forefront of high-level decision-making, companies must take action to create job opportunities and provide access to leadership roles,” she said.

“However, we cannot stop there. To further build on the progress, we must prioritise the implementation of equitable and inclusive policies. This includes a rigorous pay equity framework, global family leave, and flexible work policies.”

Broadening efforts to bring about greater workplace equity and fairness not just for women, but other societal groups as well, is an imperative that commentators agreed on.

Mantot-Groene said: “With International Women’s Day on March 8, it is natural to focus on gender diversity in isolation. However, for equitable progress for all, we need to implement initiatives on diversity that target equitable opportunities for all regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, socio-economic background. The demography of the professional sector should reflect the diversity of the population of the country.”

Patricia Quek, head of UBS Wealth Management Singapore, whose parent UBS is ranked in the GEI, said: “Inclusiveness at the workplace goes beyond gender equality. It’s about challenging different unconscious biases.

“The shifting consumer preferences create market access opportunities for more inclusive companies. According to a 2018 study from Boston Consulting Group, firms with above-average diversity scores delivered 45 per cent of total revenues from innovation, compared with 26 per cent for firms with less diverse leadership teams.”

The corporate sector has the clout to bring about this advancement, said Yuen Thio. “A lot of effective change starts with the money and the business world is where money is made. Corporates should set the stage for building a more inclusive society.”

Mak believed that companies not only need to have policies in place ensuring inclusivity and equity, but that they should also monitor these – keeping track of the distribution of different demographics at various levels, horizontal and vertical pay gaps, how top management pay compares to the average employee pay, and so on.

Huynh said, “We have the privilege of power and therefore the responsibility to challenge archaic social norms to provide access towards equitable and just opportunities for all.”