No doubt, the journey towards greater gender diversity and inclusion in the workplace can differ for everyone.
Large companies have a unique opportunity to lead the charge, leveraging their resources, reach, and influence to drive meaningful change, while smaller companies can face a steeper climb.
But there are many steps that companies can take to not only bring more women into the boardroom, but also bring the most qualified, capable, and visionary candidates to the table.
The first, crucial step is to set the right tone from the top, embracing an inclusive mindset and championing the benefits of diversity at every level.
Second, issuers may appoint a female to the board director nomination committee. Research shows that having a female chair or member on the nomination committee is an effective way of analysing candidates’ performance and identifying and recruiting more female board members, while addressing unconscious bias.
Third, issuers may broaden their recruitment pool by considering different channels, such as engaging specialist recruiters with the right capabilities to identify suitable board nominees.
Fourth, issuers may set and adhere with limits regarding the tenure a director may serve. Limits promote board refreshment, increase the turnover of long-term incumbents, and open opportunities for new candidates.
This approach may be particularly impactful in markets – like Hong Kong – where many public companies started out as family businesses and the lack of gender diversity can be partly attributed to the historically hierarchical family corporate culture.
Finally, issuers may use industry resources such as The Women’s Foundation Women to Watch and The Hong Kong Institute of Directors list of potential board candidates as a start on their recruitment journey.
You can find more of these tips on HKEX’s newly launched board diversity hub, which we hope will serve as a platform for all market participants as we advance gender diversity in the workplace.