Category: Press Release

Inching closer to 30% women on board

Posted on by 30club-Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, 18 Nov 2020 – The 30% Club Malaysia observes that more organisations in Malaysia have embraced gender diversity on boards, an integral component of good corporate governance.


According to Co-Founding Chair Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, statistics at the end of 2019 showed women representation on the top 100 public listed companies (PLC) boards rose to 26.9%, almost double what it was in 2015 when the Malaysian chapter of the 30% Club was established. There was also no all-male board in the Top 100 PLCs.


The percentage today has dipped slightly to 25.4%, believed to be largely attributed to the change in the composition of the Top 100 companies, with several PLCs now in the Top 100 having no women on board. The 30% Club hopes this is a temporary setback and will work towards helping to address the gap.


Nevertheless, according to Tan Sri Zarinah, Malaysia remains in lead position amongst our peers in ASEAN; in fact Malaysia ranks second only to Australia in the Asia Pacific region.


Women representation on the boards of all the 900+ PLCs has also steadily increased to 17.2%, an increase of 6.5% from 2015. Tan Sri Zarinah was speaking at a virtual event to celebrate the successful completion of the fifth cohort of the Club’s Board Mentoring Scheme and the on boarding of the sixth yesterday.


The Board Mentoring Scheme, established in collaboration with PwC Malaysia in 2017, aims to accelerate the appointment of more women to company boards by fast tracking their acquisition of competencies and appreciation of the role and expectations of board members from advice and guidance by senior and highly experienced mentors.


Since the launch of the scheme in 2017, 48 women have gone through the 9-month mentoring program and 27% have been appointed to boards of companies.


“The road to achieving 30% women on board has not been easy. The 30% Club Malaysia through its Board Mentoring Scheme has helped to develop a broader pipeline of board-ready women candidates to be considered for board positions,” said PwC Malaysia Partner and 30% Club Malaysia Steering Committee Member Pauline Ho.


“The Board Mentoring Scheme is part of 30% Club Malaysia’s effort to address the gender imbalance at the top of the corporate structure,” she added.


According to Tian Pouw (TP) Pun, a Board Mentoring Scheme working member of the 30% Club Malaysia, the scheme brings together experienced board directors as mentors and aspiring board-ready women under an umbrella with a focus on professional and personal development.


He added that besides gaining clarity, building courage and confidence, participating in this scheme will lead to enhanced leadership capabilities to succeed in a diverse environment in their current workplace.
[END]


For media enquiries, please contact:
Norlida Azmi
Media/PR & Communications
Email: comms.30percentclubmalaysia@gmail.com

Heriot-Watt University in Partnership with The 30% Club Malaysia

Posted on by 30club-Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 MARCH 2019 – In celebration of International Women’s Day 2019, Heriot-Watt University in partnership with the 30% Club Malaysia Chapter are pleased to announce their annual scholarship offer of RM58,050 for a successful female applicant to attend a two-year, part-time MBA programme at its Edinburgh Business School Malaysia campus.

This will be their third year of collaboration platformed on a shared long-term vision to drive higher women representation in leadership and decision-making positions.

Applications for the 2019 scholarship will open from 1st April to 30th June.

Heriot-Watt University has long been a proponent of inclusivity in education. In 1869, it became the first Scottish university to open its doors to women.

“An MBA is a proven pathway to building successful careers and yet most of our applicants are men. Together with the 30% Club, we established the annual woman scholarship with the end game to increase women representation at senior levels of business,” says Professor Mushtak Al-Atabi, CEO Heriot-Watt University Malaysia.

Echoing this sentiment, Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, Founding Chair of the 30% Club Malaysia Chapter said, “Our partnership with Heriot-Watt University is in line with the 30% Club’s objectives of strengthening the female boardroom pipeline to ensure that we get better gender balance in the boardrooms of Malaysian companies.”

Since its formation in May 2015, the 30% Club Malaysia Chapter has embarked on several initiatives, including its signature Mentoring Programme, which is a platform to provide boardready women and new women directors an opportunity to network and raise their visibility in the right board circles.

Latest statistics show Malaysia recording 15.7% women directors on the boards across all public-listed companies and 24.4% across the top 100 companies, putting it in lead position on gender diversity among the ASEAN countries.

Interested applicants can find details on the scholarship and how to apply by visiting https://thirtypercclub.wpengine.com/initiatives/business-schools#mbas

30% Club Malaysia Announces Increase Of Women On Boards To 15.2% In Bursa Top 100 PLCS

Posted on by 30club-Malaysia

TS_Zarinah_Anwar

Kuala Lumpur, 4 July, 2016, – 30% Club Malaysia, a business group which campaigns for more female directors on company boards, has announced an increase to 15.2% of women on boards in Bursa Top 100 PLCs at the end of May 2016.


The second series of the Business Leaders Roundtable meeting, held recently at Menara Maybank Kuala Lumpur and hosted by Co-Founding Chair Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin, generated high senior level participation from distinguished corporate Chairpersons and Board Directors Tun Mohamed Haniff Omar, Tan Sri Dato’ Francis Yeoh, Tan Sri Saw Choo Boon, Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman, Dato’ Abdullah Yusof , Dato’ Hajjah Zurainah Musa, Datuk Mohaiyani Shamsuddin, amongst others representing the professional services community at EY Malaysia and Korn Ferry.


Key stakeholders from Government PEMANDU and Department of Women’s Development (Jabatan Pembangunan Wanita) were present to give strong support behind this business advocacy group.


Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin, in espousing the mission to achieve 30% target by 2016 as a proven business case for improving leadership, governance and ultimately increasing shareholder value, commented:


“This series of roundtable meetings is meaningful in creating an effective discussion amongst business leaders, coupled with valuable input from key corporate captains of the various industries, to bring about sustainable change driven by merit.


Our 30% Club campaign acknowledges that to bring directional change we need top men and women to join us in leading the charge” Co-Founding Chair Tan Sri Zarinah emphasised that:


“Gender diversity is a business imperative. Thus gender must be a key consideration when it comes to hiring talented employees. We need to urge companies to place more women on boards where they are the best candidate and encourage other Chairmen to commit publicly to this effort.” 


Tan Sri Megat closed the roundtable meeting by adding: “At Maybank, we are in the process of adding more women onto our Board in the next few months.”


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