Chairman, Keppel REIT
Lead Independent Director of NTUC Income

It’s said that women hold up half the sky. Yet we’re painfully under-represented in corporate board-rooms and c-suites.  There are many reasons why – recruiting practices that focus on old boy’s networks, women’s personal preferences, the notion that diversity on boards doesn’t matter … The fact of the matter is diversity counts. In the corporate world as in nature, the greater the diversity in a system, the more robust the system is.  In an increasingly volatile and competitive world, diversity on boards is a “must have”.

Things have improved. The number of women CEO’s and board members has risen. But we must do more, faster.  

There are many diversity initiatives.  What we need is more personal commitment. We need to reach out and persuade women we know to take up the responsibility of board work. We need to link up these women with the men in our board networks. Unlike men, we women are too shy about introducing our companies to our friends, our friends to our companies. Unlike men, we women have too much compunction about choosing a woman friend over another equally qualified board candidate.

It’s time to take a stand.

If we don’t, on our own heads be it. We shouldn’t complain if one day, half the sky collapses.