Boardroom balance: Thailand trails in female representation stakes

Thailand falls slightly short of the Southeast Asian average for women in board positions, with 19% compared to 19.9%, as revealed in the 2023 Women in the Boardroom report by Deloitte Global. This figure also remains behind the global average of 23.3%. Nevertheless, Thailand ranks second in Southeast Asia for female chief executives, equalling Singapore’s 11.9% and sitting just behind the Philippines at 12%.

The data in the report, collected on March 17, last year, includes figures from 18,085 companies and 206,506 directorships from Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Over the past two years, the proportion of women holding board seats in Southeast Asia has seen a rise from 17.1% in 2021 to 19.9% in 2023.

Globally, women hold 23.3% of board seats, marking a 3.6 percentage point increase on a year-on-year basis. However, only 8.4% of the world’s boards are chaired by women, and women account for a mere 6% of chief executives, as the report indicates.

Deloitte warned that without more concerted focus and action, achieving gender parity in boardrooms may not be possible until 2038. To reach this parity, a variety of stakeholders need to increase their focus and action to ensure corporate boards accurately represent their respective societies.

Deloitte Global chair Anna Marks emphasised the financial benefits of diverse boards stating that the business case for diversity is clear: companies with more diverse boards have shown that they tend to perform better financially, However, she also highlighted the need for more concerted efforts and momentum to achieve gender parity in boardrooms.

Marks pointed out that government action has been successful in promoting gender parity at the board level. For instance, five of the six countries with the highest rate of women in board positions have quota legislation, with percentages ranging from 33% in Belgium and the Netherlands to 40% in France, Norway, and Italy. Ongoing government initiatives, such as targets and disclosures, have also contributed to progress.

In Malaysia

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia leads the way with 28.5% of board seats occupied by women, spurred by initiatives like the one woman on board quota for listed companies. Even though listed companies in Malaysia have not yet reached the 30% women directors target set in the Code on Corporate Governance, there has been progress in women’s representation in boardrooms.

The report further reveals that the average board seats held by women in Asia-Pacific stood at 14.8%, an annual increase of 1.2 percentage points, which is lower than the increase in Southeast Asia. Thailand saw a similar trend with female board chairs, with a 3.2 percentage point annual rise. Thailand’s figure of 7.2% for women board chairs surpasses the Asia-Pacific average of 6.9%, but still falls short of the global average of 8.4%, reported Bangkok Post.