On March 1, 2017 – with International Women’s Day approaching – the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School’s Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations published a study that shows “large gender pay gaps across all categories of directors and all firm sizes” of companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
Using data from disclosures required by SGX’s new corporate governance code, the study found large gaps across all board positions: chairs, executive directors, independent directors and non-executive directors – and all company sizes. The largest gaps were among executive directors and at the largest companies – those with a market capitalization over S$1billion.
199 SGX-listed companies disclosed individual board remuneration in the 2015-2016 annual report; however, the vast majority of companies chose to explain why they did not disclose individual board member remuneration rather than comply with the Code provision. 9.7% of directors in all SGX-listed companies are female compared to 8% at companies that disclosed individual board member remuneration.
In the press release, Dr Marleen Dieleman, Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy at NUS Business School commented: “These results are disappointing and show that gender inequality in SGX-listed company boards deserves greater attention. The discussion on board diversity in Singapore should move beyond merely increasing the percentage of female directors to also address deep-seated inequalities including remuneration and women’s share of board leadership roles.”
You may read the press release on the NUS Business School internet site.