One of the biggest obstacles to the Hong Kong stock exchange’s goal for gender diversity on corporate boards — companies from the mainland that have historically been slow to change — is starting to crumble.
(Bloomberg) — One of the biggest obstacles to the Hong Kong stock exchange’s goal for gender diversity on corporate boards — companies from the mainland that have historically been slow to change — is starting to crumble.
Major Chinese firms are appointing female directors, or setting targets for diversity, ahead of Hong Kong’s end-of-2024 deadline that could end up creating more than 1,300 positions exclusively for women.
Food delivery company Meituan is the most recent high-profile firm to name its first ever woman to its board, adding Esquel Enterprises Ltd. Chairman Marjorie Yang, who is also one of three women on the seven-person board of Hong Kong-listed Budweiser Brewing Co. APAC Ltd., in June.
Overall progress remains slow, though, and some of China’s industry giants still have no women on their boards. That includes online search company Baidu Inc., smartphone brand Xiaomi Corp. and electric vehicle maker BYD Co.
Read More: China’s Hottest Companies Are Ruled by All-Male Boards
But with investors putting more attention on the issue and the Hong Kong stock exchange quota looming, companies are revealing plans to boost diversity.
BYD, which this year dethroned Volkswagen AG as China’s best-selling car brand, is considering adding a female director to comply with the Hong Kong stock exchange rule and said in its most recent annual report that it is “committed to promoting gender diversity not only within the board but among its workforce generally.”
Xiaomi has said it will appoint at least one female director by the end of 2024 and increase the proportion of women on its board over time. Car dealer Zhongsheng Group Holdings Ltd. is in the process of identifying suitable female candidates. Baidu said it provides equal opportunities across hiring, training and promotion.
Overall, boards at firms on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index are making inroads in their diversity push. Six companies increased the number of women on their boards, including Hong Kong’s MTR Corp. and Cnooc Ltd., one of China’s top oil firms, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of June 30.
Women held four more seats on the boards of companies in the HSI in the second quarter from the previous three-month period, the biggest increase in two quarters. The average number of female directors rose to 2.1 from 2.0, out of an average board size of 10.8.
Two firms that had women leave their boards, briefly making them all-male, have recently added female directors.
In August, Wuxi Biologics Cayman Inc. appointed Jue Chen, a professor at Rockefeller University whose research looks at cell proteins and their role in diseases like cystic fibrosis, to its board. China Merchants Bank Co. added Li Jian, a professor at China’s Central University of Finance and Economics who supervises postdoctoral research.
Here’s a look at Hang Seng companies with the highest and lowest percentage of female board members:
The Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index is a modified capitalization-weighted index that tracks the financial performance of those companies committed to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation and transparency.
–With assistance from Kiuyan Wong.
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