Towards gender diversity in the boardroom

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: How might corporate Singapore reach the target of 20 per cent female directors in listed companies by 2020?

Preethi Sanjeevi Managing Director VMLY&R Singapore

''20 by 20'' is not as difficult as you might believe despite the slow adoption of gender equality policies across corporates in Singapore and globally. The solution starts with awareness - because while there may be a national agenda targeted at increasing female representation, there's still a large number of companies who are oblivious to their skewed gender distribution. Rather than simply an external government mandate, this needs to be a top-down awareness campaign targeted at company leadership. Second - incentivisation. Though we shouldn't need it, rewarding corporates for achieving ''20 by 20'' could help to kickstart the process. Studies show that female leadership can increase performance and employee satisfaction, and the hope is that with this start, corporates will continue to grow equal representation across the workforce.