“Board diversity, a recognized hallmark of progressive boards even before Covid-19, is more critical now than before,” Loh Boon Chye, co-chair of the council, said in a statement. “Post-pandemic recovery offers opportunities for innovation and business repositioning. Having directors with a wider mix of gender, age, skills, experiences, and backgrounds allows boards the broad-based choices as they assess what is best for the future.”
Singapore’s largest companies missed a collective target to get more women on their boards, with diversity efforts taking a backseat to combating the coronavirus pandemic.
The proportion of women on the boards of the 100 biggest listed companies rose 1.4 percentage points to 17.6% as of end-2020 from a year earlier, according to the Council for Board Diversity. The target was 20%. Some companies didn’t view board diversity as a priority last year as they battled the global outbreak, the council said.
