Despite plenty of talk around diversity, most boards are still majority male
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Women have been filling directorships at a slower rate than projected in 2015, even after the increased emphasis and additional advocacy for change, according to the MSCI 2018 Women on Boards Progress Report.
Based on the global study, nearly all companies surveyed still had majority male boards, with over a fifth of the 2,694 companies holding all-male boards. Only 11 companies had majority female boards, with another 32 exactly 50-50.
As of 2018, the number of female directors had increased to 17.9%, up only slightly from 17.3% the previous year. Women also generally held 11.2% of board seats at last count (up from 10.2%).
Female representation at the CEO level also remains low across organisations.
However, in the CFO position, there has been strong growth in the number of women – especially in the emerging markets. This is especially in China, where the proportion of female CFOs (19.3%) is noticeably greater than the overall numbers globally (11.1%).
“This year’s report shows that there are some bright spots of progress with companies,” said Jack Lin, Asia Pacific Head of Client Coverage at MSCI. “But the pace of change needs to be more in line with the strong advocacy from global investors to see better female representation at the companies they invest in.”
At the current pace of change, the 30% tipping point for board diversity will not be reached until 2029 despite the increase in global focus in recent years. This is two years later than projected as part of a business-as-usual scenario in 2015.
