Singapore and Thailand top ranks in female CEO representation, Malaysia lags

Singapore has topped the charts globally for having the most number of female CEOs, according to a study by the Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI). Alongside Italy, both countries were tallied with 15% female CEO representation. The Lion City also has 23% of women in management positions.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asia countries Thailand and Philippines were close by with 9% and 8% female CEO representation respectively. Indonesia is not too far back with 9% of female CEOs in the country, while women in management totals to 19%. However, Malaysia lags behind the rest of the markets in the region with 0% of female CEO representation. Malaysia has 23% of women in management but lacks in gender diversity in CEO positions.

The report said greater seniority of women in management in Asian countries is likely due less to regulatory pressures and more to equitable opportunities where education is concerned, amid the rapid growth and emergence of new industries and the demographic profile of these economies.

In addition, boardroom gender diversity in Singapore has went up by 7.6% this year. In 2015, Singapore stood at 10.8% and has scaled its way up to balancing the gender diversity in boardrooms. However, its value of 18.4% this year falls below the global average of 20.6%.

The study finds that companies with at least 5% of women on boards have an average of 18% women in management, while this proportion increases as the percentage of women on boards rises. According to CSRI, the impact of greater diversity in the boardroom leads to a better gender balance in executive functions. The research was conducted on over 3,000 companies stretching across 56 countries and comprising 30,000 executive positions, which assessed women in and around the C-Suite levels in a company.

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