KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia has censured listed firms boasting all-male board members and applauded the progressive ones with board diversity.
Bursa noted that as at June 1, a total of 24 companies had yet to appoint at least one woman director, thus failing to comply with the requirement stipulated by it.
Bursa warned that it would take regulatory actions against non-compliant public listed companies (PLCs).
"We would like to applaud the majority of PLCs who have already complied to the expectation announced 18 months ago.
"It is a significant step in the right direction for corporate Malaysia," its chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said in a statement.
"However, it is worth noting that several PLCs have yet to conform the requirement. We must quickly address the issue of some PLCs still retaining all-male boards," he added.
Umar said the exchange would reinforce the need for board of directors to exhibit exemplary standards of responsibility and accountability towards driving corporate performance, while upholding diversity, equity and inclusion principles.
Bursa, nevertheless, said Malaysia had made much progress along the gender diversity front in the past decade, as a result of persistent efforts undertaken by various stakeholders.
Across the entire population of PLCs listed on the exchange, the average percentage of women directors currently stand at 22 per cent as at May 1 this year.
Malaysia is one of only four emerging markets where women hold board seats in more than 20 per cent of the top 100 PLCs, based on the Gender Equality in Corporate Leadership: Regional Analysis Report in December 2022.
Bursa said despite the considerable progress observed over the years, a number of challenges persisted in the journey towards achieving the aspirational target of 30 per cent women on boards.
It added that one such challenge was to tackle the phenomenon of some PLCs continuing the practice of having an all-male board.
Thus, to catalyse change, Bursa announced in January 2022 the requirement for PLCs with market capitalisation of RM2 billion as at December 31, 2021, to appoint at least one woman board member by September 1, 2022.
For the remaining PLCs, the requirement must be complied with by June 1 this year.
Main Market PLCs are required to manage and promote diversity by implementing relevant policies, processes and initiatives and to make corresponding disclosures within their sustainability statement or report starting from financial year ending Dec 31, 2023.
ACE Market PLCs would be subject to these requirements from financial year ending Dec 31, 2025.