Female representation in Hong Kong firms improves but remains low

Female representation on the board of publicly listed companies in Hong Kong has improved in 2021, but remains low despite new rules taking effect from January 1, 2022. According to the new rules, Hong Kong-listed firms with single-gender boards have until the end of 2024 to introduce greater gender diversity. Data compiled by sustainability data and technology firm Miotech showed that the 64 constituent members of the benchmark Hang Seng Index had only 110 women board members, accounting for a mere 14.6% of the total last year. In 2020, it was only 13%. Fay Wu, global head of research at Miotech, said the region has significantly lagged behind the US and Europe on board diversity. Wu said women’s board representation came in below 15% among the firms that make up the Hang Seng Index, mainland China’s CSI 300 Index, and Taiwan’s Taiex index.