At central banks in South-east Asia, women call the shots

Singapore

MANY hailed Zeti Akhtar Aziz's 16-year tenure as governor of Malaysia's central bank as a triumph for gender diversity in South-east Asia. Turns out it wasn't such a rarity.

Women have become uniquely well-represented throughout the region's central banks, the latest available data show. They account for almost two-thirds of managerial staff in the Philippines, and at least half in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. That compares with much lower figures at their developed-world peers.