Gender gap: Add grassroots effort to bold rules

THE gender gap in our companies and boardrooms must be filled with a good helping of grassroots, and not just rules shovelled from above.

The issue of gender equality has been receiving closer scrutiny over the past year, especially with the 2014 formation of the Diversity Action Committee (DAC).

There is good reason for the spotlight. The percentage of women among directors of Singapore-listed companies rose just 0.3 percentage point in the first half of 2015 to 9.1 per cent, according to the DAC. At that rate, it would take decades before male and female representation on boards reaches parity. A World Economic Forum survey in 2014 gave Singapore a score of just 0.46, with one representing equality and zero representing inequality, when it came to women's participation as legislators, senior officials and managers.