Malaysia mandates companies to have at least one woman director

Published Fri, Oct 29, 2021 · 07:53 PM

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's publicly traded firms must have at least one woman director on their boards starting next year, as the government seeks to ensure more female oversight on running of companies in the country.

The proposal will take effect from Sept 1, 2022 for large capital companies, and June 1, 2023 for other listed companies, Finance Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz said on Friday as he delivered the nation's spending plan for next year.

The move is aimed at "recognizing the role of women in the decision-making process and strengthening leadership as well the effectiveness of the board of directors," Zafrul said.

"The contribution of women to the economy has never been in dispute, and should in fact be further reinforced." Governments, political parties and executive groups the world over are pushing for more women to be appointed to boards amid studies showing companies with diverse boards make better decisions, among other benefits.

While women make up about 25 per cent of the board composition for 100 major public companies in Malaysia, there are 252 firms - 27 per cent of those listed on the Bursa exchange - that don't have female board membership, Zafrul said.

BLOOMBERG