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Hong Kong companies need more board diversity

Exacerbated by uneven gender ratios and antiquated social norms, opportunities for women to participate, much less succeed in business are still quite limited. In the 2017 WEF Global Gender Gap Report, of the 25 Asia Pacific nations surveyed, gender equity ratings of 13 nations fell, and at an average rate of 8%.The gender diversity in some of Asia’s leading economies is the lowest compared to other parts of the world. It’s 2018, and the glass ceiling (a phrase coined in 1978) seems as unbreakable as ever. Indeed, the economic gender gap has continued widen and without concerted efforts from every business sector, the WEF estimates it will take 217 years before we see it close.

Gender parity is fundamental to whether and how societies thrive. There is an excellent, clear, values-based business case for promoting gender diversity: women are one-half of the world’s population and deserve equal access to health, education, economic participation, earning potential and political decision-making power. Ensuring the healthy development and appropriate use of half of the world’s total talent pool has a substantial impact on the growth, competitiveness and future-readiness of economies and businesses.

However, even by 2018, no country has closed their overall gender gap, and the economic losses from disparity are easily quantifiable. For example, the East Asia and the Pacific regions reportedly lose between US$42 billion and US$47 billion annually due to the overall limited access to employment opportunities for women. Furthermore, a recent McKinsey Global Institute report shared that advancing women’s equality in Asia Pacific could add $4.5 trillion to their collective annual GDP in 2025 (see Figure 1 below), a 12% increase over the business-as-usual trajectory.

Figure 1: McKinsey Global Institute

f the numbers show that we can all benefit from more gender diversity in the workplace, why is it still such a foreign concept, especially in Asia? The gender ratio of a company can offer an assortment of knowledge and skills,1 however research from organizations like BCG indicate that the career obstacles women face, such as being overlooked for promotions, tend to be institutional, with deep roots in the organization’s culture. They also have found that reforming this culture and creating true gender parity requires participation by both men and women, particularly given that most senior leadership teams are predominantly male.2One relatively straightforward way to measure and demonstrate gender diversity is to look at gender diversity among an organizations leadership. In fact, research shows that companies with a larger percentage of women in executive positions have a 34% higher total return to shareholders than those that do not. The more diversity of thought, perspectives, experiences, and skills a board collectively possesses, the better it can oversee moves into riskier territory in an informed and useful way – and to assist management in making bold decisions that are likely to pay off.3

These studies on female leadership show that, while there are increasingly more women on boards worldwide (28% in 2016, up from 18.3% in 2015), Asia is lagging behind (see Figure 2 below). Indeed, Singapore and Hong Kong’s progress pales in comparison against global counterparts such as the United Kingdom, where female representation on FTSE 100 Index boards has tripled since 2009 to 26.8%, and is now voluntarily targeting 33% by 2020.4, 5

Figure 2: McKinsey Global Institute

Progress has been made by some leading Hong Kong-listed companies, notably  CLP Holdings, HSBC Holdings, Link Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and MTR Corporation which all increased the number and percentage of female board directors over the last five years. However, there has been no significant increase in the overall proportion of board positions held by women since the Hong Kong Stock Exchange introduced its comply-or-explain rules on the disclosure of diversity policies.6 Why is that?

By looking more closely at those sitting on boards, the answer becomes apparent. In spring 2017, Deloitte conducted their own survey of 300 board members and C-suite executives at U.S. companies with at least $50 million in annual revenue and 1,000 employees. One notable finding was that most board recruitment practices have not kept pace with the desire and need for greater board diversity. They also highlighted that outdated recruitment practices and a ‘boys club approach’ has led to current members often seeking candidates who tend to be like themselves – men with upper management experience. This attitude combined with low turnover on boards not only hinders movement toward greater diversity but also can lead to myopic views of operations and impaired ability to oversee innovative strategies and adjust to trending risks.7

Indeed, despite knowing the positive effects of greater board diversity—companies with it are more likely to have strong financial performance and fewer instances of bribery, corruption, shareholder battles, and fraud—some directors remain unconvinced about the overall value diversity brings to a company.8 Those uncertain directors are almost always men. In a 2017 article about Corporate Board Diversity, Fortune shared that male directors have displayed more resistance to the corporate diversity push in general. In a survey by PwC, of the 27% of directors who said there is too much attention on gender diversity, 97% of those respondents were men. While these studies were conducted in the US, is it fair to assume that attitudes towards gender diversity among male board members are the same in Asia?

If Hong Kong companies plan to diversify their boards, they will need to restructure more than their recruitment processes. Bringing people with diverse skills, perspectives, and experiences to the board—as well as women, and racial and ethnic minorities—requires more robust processes than those currently used by most boards.9 Some suggested actions to create a lasting change (from McKinsey, Blackrock and Deloitte) include:

  • When recruiting, consider not only individual member’s profiles but also assess the board as a team that works best when complementary characteristics and capabilities are in place or can be put in place.
  • As a women often juggles four times the amount of unpaid work as her male counterparts, companies should take steps to help women by expanding family friendly working practices such as policies promoting parental leave and flexible working hours.
  • Articulate the benefits of diversity policies, stating why they were introduced and how they assist in building the longer-term value of the company.
  • Avoid relying on recruiters and cronyism, and instead look beyond resumes and check-the-box approaches to recruiting women that fully consider a candidate’s outlook, experience and fit.
  • Change attitudes and cultural biases toward women by using cutting-edge and innovative approaches. To start, select and equip both male and female champions to lead cultural change within the organization to face conscious and unconscious discrimination in the workplace.
  • Embed gender diversity into operations from top to bottom, with clear managerial commitment to equality in the workplace.
  • Develop processes to back up that standard, the provision of flexible working to ensure that employees can achieve work–life balance, and programs that explicitly provide mentorship, skills building and networking for women.
  • Improve the transparency of diversity reporting and encourage disclosure of nomination processes that ensures diversity is reflected in any candidate list.
  • Redesign succession plans that create seats for those who are truly different, for example someone with no board experience but a strong cybersecurity background or someone who more closely mirrors the customer base.
  • Utilize a data-driven analytics tool that assesses management’s strategies, the board’s needs and desired director attributes to help define the optimal board composition.
  • When recruiting new board members, consider who best can determine that management is taking the right risks to innovate and win in the marketplace.

Leading asset owners and global advocacy groups, like the 30% Club, aim for women to comprise a minimum of 30% of board seats globally. In 2016, the 30% Club Hong Konglaunched a campaign to increase the percentage of women directors on HSI-listed company boards to 20% by 2020, working toward the long-term goal of 30%. However, at the current pace, this target will not be met globally until 2027, and likely years later in Hong Kong. By then, even more economic losses from gender disparity will be felt by even more women, as they continue to face a glass ceiling that should have been shattered years ago.

How Can CSR Asia Help?

We are a leading provider of sustainability consultancy services and we tailor our solutions to meet the specific needs of our clients. We can work with you to dispel myths and enhance the dialogue about gender related topics and help to create a diverse, inclusive culture that helps women, men, and entire organizations thrive. For information about our services and ways that we can work with you, please visit our website or contact Rebecca.Chan@csr-asia.com.

Cited Sources:

1. http://gap.hks.harvard.edu/impact-gender-diversity-performance-business-teams-evidence-field-experiment

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