Property listcos have more women chair than those in other sectors
IREUS study finds no distinct relationship between number of board seats filled by women and return on equity
Singapore
CLOSE to 18 per cent of the real estate service firms and real estate investment trusts (Reits) listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) have an executive chairwoman on their board of directors.
That is higher than the 7 per cent of all SGX-listed companies (listcos) with women chairing their boards as at the end of 2021, an analysis by the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS) shows.
Among the 100 biggest companies on the bourse, 9 were chaired by women, also a smaller proportion than in the property sector.
IREUS examined a sample of 99 firms in real estate services, including developers, and Reits listed on SGX. The research institute noted that about 21 per cent of these property service firms and Reits are led by women chief executive officers. And on average, women held around 13.2 per cent of board seats in the real estate sector, based on data from the companies' latest annual reports. This proportion is close to the overall average for all SGX-listed companies in recent months.
Women's participation on the boards of SGX-listed companies has been increasing over the years, reaching an average share of 13.6 per cent in January 2022, statistics from Singapore's Council for Board Diversity showed. This is up from 13.5 per cent in December 2021 and 8.3 per cent in December 2013.
However, going by IREUS' findings, the relationship between the number of board positions filled by women and the return on equity is not distinct.
When the trend line - that is, the best-fit straight line - of the returns in 2021 is plotted against the proportion of female directors, it appears flattish.
Still, the property names with a proportion of more than 30 per cent women on their boards seem to have a higher average return on equity than those with none.
IREUS deputy director Lee Nai Jia said: "The relationship between women's participation in boards and the returns appears weakly positive at this juncture, partly due to bunching effects - most firms have either a 10 to 20 per cent female representation on their boards or an all-male board.
"That said, the results are encouraging, though more research is needed to isolate the causes."
The case for gender-balanced boards is as much about improving company performance and other economic considerations as it is about gender parity and creating equal opportunities for both women and men, Dr Lee added.
Gender diversity is one of the indicators of board diversity, and more organisations are increasingly approaching it as a value driver in organisational strategy and corporate governance.
Some studies argue that a heterogeneous board of directors benefits from a more thorough consideration of problems and solutions, which in turn enhances board independence. Moreover, a diverse leadership team may be able to increase a firm's competitiveness by leveraging a larger network of contacts, as well as broader expertise and experience.
The Council for Board Diversity stated in its March 2022 report that 21 companies, out of the top 100 companies on SGX, have consistently maintained gender diversity on their boards since 2013 or their listing dates.
The 21 included Reits such as Lendlease Global Commercial Reit, which had women making up 40 per cent of its directors as at December 2021; and SPH Reit, Mapletree Commercial Trust, Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust and Prime US Reit, each with 33 per cent.
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