Getting women on board

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: Should Singapore have a 20 per cent female board directors target? Why should, or shouldn't, gender diversity on corporate boards be mandated?

Vincent Magnenat CEO, Singapore and Head of Private Banking, Asia Lombard Odier

I would advocate promoting gender diversity not only in corporate boards but throughout an organisation, putting in place an appropriate framework to empower women at every level.

Workplace culture comes from the top. Since former Lombard Odier managing partner, Anne-Marie de Weck, retired after 20 years in December, we have announced the appointment of Annika Falkengren, one of Europe's most respected female bankers, as a new managing partner.

I don't believe in quotas, but we are actively addressing gender diversity at a Singapore, regional and global level as we see the correlation between diverse boards and overall performance. For example, companies with gender-diverse boards have delivered a 36 per cent better return-on-equity since 2010, according to a MSCI study of the 1,643 firms on the MSCI Wor…