Malaysia's 30% Club fully supports better gender balance on boards

The 30% Club Malaysia is fully supportive of efforts at addressing better gender balance on boards and decision making positions across all public listed companies.

The club, a global movement of international Chairs and CEOs who advocate gender parity at all levels of their organisations, believe that gender diversity on boards must be driven by the business because it makes business sense.

Malaysia's 30% Club aims to strongly advocate that through gender diversification of those at the helm, the country's organisations and companies can achieve greater value creation for their internal and external stakeholders.

"This would be in furtherance of the government policy to attain 30 percent women representation in the C-suites and boards of such organisations and companies," Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin, Maybank Bhd chairman and also a Founding Chair of the club, said in a statement today.

The 30% Club, which is fundamentally a business-led campaign, also believes businesses that invest in women are in fact investing in their businesses.

It said there was a strong correlation between women representation in boardrooms and in leadership roles to improved company performance, profitability, innovation, governance and more importantly, business sustainability.

A new McKinsey Global Institute report stated that US$12 trillion (around RM49 trillion) could be added to the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2025 by advancing women's equality.

"The 30% Club will also work towards assisting boards on their diversity efforts and urge them to demonstrate purposeful leadership in prioritising an agenda that offers clear benefits to their business," said another Founding Chair of the Club, Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar.