Welcome to the Malaysia Chapter
Growth Through Diversity
About 30% Club Malaysia
The Malaysian Chapter of the 30% Club was launched in May 2015 with the aim of improving diversity on the Malaysian corporate boards and senior management.
Through its activities, 30% Club Malaysia aims to activate the Chairs and CEOs to be visible in adopting diversity, equity and inclusion best practices in their organisations as well as engage wider stakeholders with market influence.
To increase women’s participation in boards, the 30% Club Malaysia will continue to work alongside our regulators and build an ecosystem of corporations to accelerate diversity, equity and inclusion, driving sustainable corporate growth.
Our aim
To support the achievement of a minimum of 30% Gender Balance at all senior decision-making tables across Malaysia, including Boards and c-Suite.
30% Club through its activities aims to activate the Chairs and CEOs to be visible in adopting diversity and inclusion best practices in their organisations; engage the wider stakeholders with market influence to champion the diversity agenda within their ecosystem and enable the development of a sustainable pipeline of future women leaders for boards and senior positions.
Activate
Activate senior leaders
Engaging chairs and CEO’s to drive change, and supporting organisations in their diversity endeavours, with a specific focus on gender.
Influence
Influence those with power to drive change
Influencing at a national level on diversity related topics and working complementary to other national change initiatives including Balance for Better Business, the State Boards Diversity Initiative, Citizens Assembly on Gender Equality and other interest groups.
Enable
Enabling future women leaders
Support the development of talent pipeline through mentoring, executive education scholarships and board-ready initiatives.
“Our mission is to close the gap to 30% and start working with the next 100 listed companies as capital market leaders. With an ESG-first mindset moving global allocation of capital towards quality, diverse and inclusive companies, Malaysia needs to be well-positioned to promote the investability of our leading listed companies to maintain ASEAN leadership,"
Chapter progress
Women representation on the top 100 public listed boards from 2018 onwards.
2018
24%
2019
26%
2020
25%
2021
26%
2022
28.2%
2023
29.9%
Members
The 30% Club Malaysia members comprise partners, public listed companies, multinational companies, regulators and professional bodies.
| Company | Member name | Job Title | Chapter membership |
|---|---|---|---|
| abrdn Islamic Malaysia Sdn Bhd | Joanne Lopez | Non-ED | Malaysia |
| American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce | Siobhan Das | CEO | Malaysia |
| Asia School of Business | Prof Dr Sanjay Sarma | CEO, President & Dean | Malaysia |
| Axiata Digital Advertising Sdn Bhd | Srinivas Gattamneni | CEO | Malaysia |
| Axiata Digital Services Sdn Bhd | Mohd Khairil Abdullah | CEO | Malaysia |
| Axiata Group Bhd | Vivek Sood | Group CEO & MD | Malaysia |
| Ayer Holdings Bhd | Chua Seng Yong | Group CEO | Malaysia |
| Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd | Mohd Muazzam Mohamed | Group CEO | Malaysia |
| Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd | Arshad Mohamed Ismail | President/Group CEO | Malaysia |
| Berjaya Corporation Bhd | To be Advised | To be Advised | Malaysia |
Advisory council
Anne Abraham
ADVISORY
Chair - LeadWomen
Dato’ Abdul Aziz Abu Bakar
ADVISORY
Director - ICDM
Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah
ADVISORY
Founder& Chairman Sunway Group
Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar
ADVISORY
Chair - ICDM
Steering committee
The 30% Club is run by a Steering Committee that is made up of senior men and women who volunteer their time and skills
Dato’ Abdul Aziz Abu Bakar
Executive Founding Co-Chair 30% Club Malaysia
Director- ICDM & Affin Bank Bhd
Dato’ Ami Moris
Chair 30% Club Malaysia
Advisor, Business & Sustainability - Maybank
Marzida Mohd Noor
MEMBERSHIP & ACTIVATION
Director - Affin Bank
Raj Kumar Paramanathan
MEMBERSHIP & ACTIVATION
Managing Partner - CnetG Asia
IIham Sunhaji
GOVERNMENT AND REGULATOR
Head of Corporate Strategy& Research - MPRC/Director- OVH Bhd & Econframe Bhd
Karpana Somasundram
INVESTOR COMMUNITY
Director - CB Industrial Product Bhd
Pauline Ho
BOARD MENTORING
Partner - PwC Malaysia
Tian Pouw TP Pun
BOARD MENTORING
Founder - TPPun Advisory
Our work
To increase women’s participation in boards, the 30% Club Malaysia will continue to work alongside our regulators and build an ecosystem of corporations to accelerate diversity, equity and inclusion, driving sustainable corporate growth.
The 30% Club Malaysia will continue to activate the movement for Chairs/CEO to encourage and be seen to place women on boards, leadership positions and be an active participant of the 30% Club.
We will work to engage influencers to continuously demonstrate that women on boards and in leadership is good for business.
We will also enable the talent pipeline of candidates to seize opportunities that will place them in leadership/board positions
30% Club works with some amazing partner groups that help champion meaningful, sustainable change in the gender balance of boards and leadership.
MAIN AIMS
The Activate Pillar aims to support the overall objective of 30% Club Malaysia in building an ecosystem of corporations to accelerate diversity, equity and inclusion. To this end, we will LEAD with the Chairs and CEOs of our members to promote development of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace; further advance existing initiatives; build a pipeline and progress women into leadership positions.
We will collaborate with interested corporations and LEVERAGE readily available resources from members, partners and advocates. In addition, we seek to provide platforms for corporations to network with peers across industry and exchange insights and best practices that elevate diversity, equity and inclusion in their workplace.
Activate will encourage interested corporations to take a LEAP as active proponents of the 30% Club, and advance our campaign’s agenda. To achieve this, we will create avenues for participating corporations to be visible in this campaign to raise diversity, equity and inclusion in the Malaysian workforce.
CONTACT
For more information get in touch with Marzida Mohd Noor at marzida.30percentclubmalaysia@gmail.com
MAIN AIMS
The Influence pillar aims to engage with key influencers in the Investors’ Community and Government groups ranging from domestic, regional & international investors, regulators and GLICs. In collaborating with key influencers and thought leaders, our aim is to establish a community of advocates who will advance diversity, equality and inclusion across the workforce and boardrooms, at the company and national levels, in support the objectives of 30% Club Malaysia. We are actively engaging with key influencers such as Securities Commission, Bursa Malaysia, Institutional Investors Council Malaysia (IIC), and Government Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) through interviews, moderated panel discussions, and dialogue sessions on issues of diversity, equality, and inclusion. We are leveraging on various platforms, including social media, to raise our visibility and voice through featuring the key content and discussion points of our engagements with influencers. In this way, we will build up the momentum of forwarding the agenda of diversity, equity, and inclusion towards enhancing corporate governance.
CONTACT
For more information get in touch with IIham Sunhaji (Government and Regulator) & Karpana Somasundram (Investor Community) at influence.30percentclubmalaysia@gmail.com
MAIN AIMS
The board mentoring scheme aims to accelerate the appointment of more women into board positions as well as enhancing diversity and inclusion in public-listed companies (PLCs).
The scheme, which was launched in 2017, brings together experienced board directors as mentors and aspiring board-ready women under an umbrella with a focus on professional and personal development.
The scheme helps to develop a broader pipeline of board-ready women candidates to be considered for board positions as well as raise their visibility and enhance their profiles among PLCs. 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.
Through the mentors’ involvement in this scheme, it is our aim that mentors will advocate more gender-diverse boardrooms.
Since its inception, more than 40 experienced board members from a wide range of PLCs have supported the board mentoring scheme and, many women candidates have become board directors at both listed and non listed companies.
How it works
The scheme runs for nine months.
To be part of this scheme, the candidate needs to be assessed as board ready by LeadWomen or The Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia (ICDM). Then, the mentee will be assigned to a mentor, who is a board member of a PLC.
During this period, the mentee needs to initiate at least three meetings with their respective mentors with each meeting lasting between one to two hours. The respective mentors will share experience and provide guidance to the selected mentees in key areas that are necessary to succeed in board positions. Where the opportunity arise, the mentors may introduce the mentees to others board members with the aim of expanding the mentees’ network.
The mentees also benefit from networking amongst themselves, share knowledge and learn from each other during the 9 month journey. At the conclusion of the 9 months, feedbacks are gathered from both the mentors and mentees to further improve the scheme.
CONTACT
For more information get in touch with Norlela at norlela.30percentclubmalaysia@gmail.com. Do attn the email to Pauline Ho & Tian Pouw TP Pun.
MAIN AIMS
The Enable Pillar aims to enable future women leaders and act as a bridge to the current business leaders. The role of the Talent Pipeline team is to remove the barriers, create opportunities, and help identify quality talents for the 30% Club female board placement.
The team comes with a vision to shift the mindset of the leaders today and focus on the merits of diversity; prepare the C-suite leaders to become board ready both from a functional specialist and a general management path; and expand the visibility of 30% Club in relations to Talent Pipelining. The Talent Pipeline team will be working closely with CEOs, HR Leaders, Universities, Women Empowerment groups, and Professional Associations.
The main outcome of our initiatives is to shift that mindset and grow the next generation of Female Leaders for both Macro & Micro benefits to organisations and the nation.
CONTACT
For more information get in touch with Nadiah Tan Abdullah at nadiahtan.a@spsetia.com
MAIN AIMS
The Media/PR & Communications aims to increase the visibility and reach of the 30% Club through a coordinated series of strategic communications engagements and activities.
Fundamental to our message is driving thought leadership and action to achieve the business campaign objectives.
Among the activities carried out include driving followership and engagement on LinkedIn, leveraging on print and online media to boost our outreach efforts. In line with the 30% club objective, the team also advocates for gender diversity on boards as speakers at various conferences and platforms. The team also advocates for gender diversity on boards and C-Suites as speakers at various conferences and platforms.
CONTACT
For more information get in touch with Noelle Lim Ji Jek at comms.30percentclubmalaysia@gmail.com
The latest press releases and media coverage about 30% Club Malaysia.
For media enquiries, contact Noelle Lim Jiek at comms.30percentclubmalaysia@gmail.com
30% Club Malaysia Press Releases
2016
2019
2020
2021
We are in the News!
MAIN AIMS
The Secretariat is the single point of contact for all queries relating to the 30% Club Malaysia as well at the primary liaison for other 30% Club chapters. The responsibilities include facilitating and administering the objectives and activities of the three pillars (ACTIVATE, INFLUENCE and ENABLE ) of the 30% Club Malaysia. The Secretariat also facilitates the placement of women directors on boards for public listed companies.
CONTACT
For more information get in touch with Mazlina at mazlina.30percentclubmalaysia@gmail.com
What is the 30% Club and its mission?
The 30% Club is a global movement founded in the UK. It aims to place women in 30% of leadership positions at all levels of the organisation. The Malaysia Chapter was launched by the Prime Minister in May 2015. The immediate focus of the Malaysia Chapter is to facilitate 30% women representation on the boards of public-listed companies. This is intended to be a catalyst for the long-term objective to achieve a corporate culture in Malaysia where the appointment process becomes impartial to gender.
Why 30% (not more)?
The intent is to reach a minimum of 30% women representation on boards of PLCs. 30% is a sizeable enough minority to have an effective voice to influence change. Data indicates that 30% is a target that can be achieved with the number of qualified, board-ready women in the market today combined with the number of board positions registered with Bursa Malaysia.
Isn’t 30% an implied quota?
It is not a quota mandated by law. Rather, 30% is a target. Although the Malaysian government has taken the soft-compulsion approach to get public-listed companies to commit to this target, the 30% initiative relies on persuasion and engagement to encourage compliance.
If it’s not mandated by law, what are the chances of you reaching the 30% target?
The Club understands it requires a tremendous amount of support from various stakeholders. We do not work in isolation and are in continuous engagement with various stakeholders who share our vision. We partner with Securities Commission Malaysia and Bursa Malaysia, the Economic Planning Unit and the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) in the Prime Minister’s Department, TalentCorp, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, as well as talent sourcing agencies, NGOs, and experienced volunteers who are actively advocating and leading the way for change.
In the immediate term, the Club is focusing our placement efforts on the Bursa Top 100 PLCs as well as all-male boards. Towards this end, our initiatives include:
- Working with sourcing and learning agencies for board placements and development programmes to keep the talent pipeline full.
- A mentoring programme conducted in partnership with PwC.
- Business leaders’ roundtables to facilitate 2-way dialogues with Board members in order to understand their challenges in meeting the targets and helping them appreciate how the Club can assist.
- Providing media visibility for these activities and to profile current and potential women directors.
Does the 30% target not undermine women’s ability to get on boards on merit? Isn’t this positive discrimination towards women?
While companies are encouraged to meet the 30% target, it is on the expectation that women directors are appointed based on their eligibility, qualification and experience. Bursa data indicates that there is a sufficient number of board-ready women in the market to reach this target, but without intervention the data suggests that Malaysia will only reach 30% women on PLC boards by 2099. The Government, therefore, has imposed measures to help fast track women appointments on boards.
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