The need for gender equality in corporate boards

Since March is Women's Month, it's timely to talk about gender equality and women representation in corporate boards.

Gender equality is one of the sustainability goals of the United Nations. Ending all discrimination against women is not only a basic human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. It is proven that empowering women helps economic growth and development (United Nations Development Program, Goal 5, available at https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals/gender-equality).

There is also a push for general equality or diversity in corporate boards. Under the Revised Corporation Code, the board of directors shall exercise the corporate powers, conduct all business and control all properties of the corporation.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has recognized that the ability of the board to ensure strategic guidance of the company depends, in part, on its composition, which should include directors with the right mix of background and competencies. There is research that suggests that gender diversity on boards has positive spillover effects on board dynamics and governance

In a diversity tracker or study conducted by Egon Zehnder in 2024, it was reported that 96 percent of corporate boards have a least one woman director, and on average, women accounted for 34.9 percent of new board appointments in 2024. The study found that despite more women joining boards globally, setbacks in new board appointments and slower advancement to leadership roles highlight the need for more intentional board succession planning (The Progress of Board Diversity: Slow Advancement Amid Waves of Change, available at https://www.egonzehnder.com/global-board-diversity-tracker).

A study conducted by the Philippine Women's Economic Network showed that women comprise only 17 percent of directors in Philippine publicly listed companies or PLCs.

Gender parity

According to the World Economic Forum, gender parity in the workforce can be advanced through both formal measures like quotas and policies, as well as through informal factors such as professional networks.

Norway, Spain, France and Iceland have laws requiring that women comprise at least 40 percent of boards in publicly listed companies. Six countries require between 20 and 35 percent, and four countries — India, Israel, Korea and Malaysia — require "at least one" female director. Malaysia is the first Southeast Asian country to impose a one-female director quota.

It is still debatable if a quota will be good for the Philippines, which has historically been in the top 10 of the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report until 2018. But we slid to No. 25 in 2024, dropping nine slots from its 16th place 2023 ranking. (It was said the slide was due to losses in economic parity and a reduction in the share of women ministers).

Other than quota, LinkedIn data suggests that gender gaps in online professional networks lead to men typically having larger networks and stronger networks than women. Stronger networks are associated with increased probability of career progression and receive more recruiter outreach.

However, one silver lining is that women have more "weak" ties, which have been linked to better career outcomes (Global Gender Gap Report 2024, Insight Report, June 2024, available at https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2024/digest/).

It is thus important that women corporate directors be in strong networks worldwide, including the Philippines.

Here at home, NextGen Organization of Women Corporate Director (NOWCD) is pushing for more women directors in Philippine PLCs and boards. NOWCD is an organization of women directors in the boards of highly esteemed and reputable publicly listed companies or companies vested with public interest. It is the Philippine affiliate of Women Corporate Directors, the world's largest community of women corporate board of directors.

From its inception in 2021, NOWCD has made its mission to develop highly qualified women directors to become drivers of visionary and effective boards. Its goal is to help increase the representation of women in leadership positions of public and private company boards in the Philippines. The organization believes that diversity is key to bringing about balance and success to the future of any corporation.

The Institute of Corporate Directors provides directors with multifaceted learning forums to advance their governance knowledge and build the necessary skills to enhance their contributions in the boardroom.

Source: Business World

Corruption and education are top concerns of business executives

Corruption, education, and dealing with local government units (LGUs) are top concerns for businesses this year, according to the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

Speaking at the business group’s inaugural meeting yesterday, MAP president Alfredo Panlilio said a survey conducted among members in the fourth quarter last year showed corruption as the top concern of businesses for 2025.

Other concerns identified by MAP members in the survey are education, the economy, ease of doing business, climate change, cybersecurity, and dealing with LGUs.

Panlilio said concerns about dealing with LGUs involve the delays in issuance of permits to undertake projects, including those in the telecommunications and power sectors.

To address the concerns, he said this year’s board has set four main thrusts that will guide the group’s activities. These are member engagement, country competitiveness, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) shared prosperity, and investing in the youth.

“To address corruption and ease of doing business, we will continue to participate actively in the programs of the Anti-Red Tape Authority or ARTA,” he said.

In terms of member engagement, he said MAP’s general membership meetings would cover issues that are relevant and beneficial to members and the economy.

On country competitiveness, he said MAP would continue to push for policy reforms that will eliminate corruption, improve the ease of doing business, ensure food security through agricultural productivity, and sustain an enabling business environment for both local and foreign investors.

“The aspiration is to attract greater and more diverse job-creating investments for more Filipinos to be gainfully employed,” he said.

When it comes to the ESG and shared prosperity thrust, he said MAP would continue to promote sustainable practices, ethical leadership, and inclusive growth to create long-term value for members and all stakeholders.

“We will continue pushing for the discourse and activities to champion responsible business, uplift communities, and contribute to a resilient and equitable future for the Philippines,” he said.

He said MAP would also continue its campaign against malnutrition and child stunting in line with the thrust to invest in the youth.

The business group will also continue efforts to urge both the government and private sector to pursue relevant education, health, and wellness programs, particularly for the youth.

“The objective is for the youth to become productive members of society, with competitive skills and capacity that will ensure a progressive economy of the future,” Panlilio said.

In addition to the four main thrusts, he said MAP would pursue other advocacies and programs aimed at helping businesses adapt to developments in the domestic and global landscape.

Source: Philstar

The Philippines' business environment needs improvements

The Philippines' business improvement has scope for improvements based on the results of the World Bank's inaugural Business Ready (B-Ready) report.

The country's scores across the three pillars and 10 topics covered by the report ranged as high as the first, or top, quintile and as low as the fifth.

Overall, the B-Ready report assesses a country's "business environment by focusing on the regulatory framework and the provision of related public services directed at firms and markets, as well as the efficiency with which firms can comply with regulations and access public services," the World Bank said.

The 10 topics, meanwhile, "correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm and its participation in the market while opening, operating (or expanding) and closing (or reorganizing) a business."

Economies in the top quintile "demonstrate the highest performance," the World Bank said, while those in the second "have above-average scores ... but also show potential for improvements."

Third quintile members, meanwhile, "exhibit a mix of strengths and weaknesses," those in the fourth "grapple with a challenging business environment," and the bottom quintile comprise economies that "face significant challenges."

The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said it welcomed the Philippines' "inclusion in the top 40 percent." The report, however, did not present an overall ranking of the 50 economies studied.

The World Bank instead divided countries into five equal groupings, or quintiles, based on their scores in terms of the three pillars and topics.

The Philippines posted its highest score of 70.68, in a scale of zero to 100, in the regulatory framework pillar, enough to put it in the second quintile or 16th out of the 50 economies.

It was in the middle of the pack, or the third quintile, in the public services pillar with a score of 50.80 for 24th.

The country was 36th in terms of operational efficiency, scoring 57.95, which placed it in the fourth quintile.

"Economies of varying income levels can adopt strong regulatory frameworks," the World Bank said, noting that while high-income countries dominated this pillar (Hungary was 1st), it also included a lower-middle-income economy such as the Philippines.

As for public services, "high-income economies tend to provide higher quality public services to support businesses, but all income levels are represented across top quintiles," it added.

Estonia topped this category.

With regard to the third pillar, where Singapore came first, "economies across all income levels can facilitate operational efficiency for firms."

By topic, meanwhile, the Philippines was in the first quintile (6th) in terms of labor, in the second with regard to international trade (17th); and in the bottom fifth in terms of business entry (42nd).

It was in the third quintile for the remaining seven topics: business location (30th), utility services (23rd), financial services (29th), taxation (22nd), dispute resolution (21st), market competition (28th) and business insolvency (29th).

The ARTA said that the Philippines' 16th place in the regulatory framework pillar underscored progress in improving the country's business environment.

This, it added, showed the government's success in "establishing clear and effective rules and regulations that support business operations from startup to closure."

As for the public services and operational showings, the ARTA said that it acknowledged the "need for further improvement."

With regard to the topic results, it said that the Philippines posted a "strong performance" in the areas of labor, international trade and utility services.

"It highlights significant advancements made in improving labor conditions, digitalizing trade processes and providing transparent utility services, it added.

The key areas for improvement, meanwhile, were said to be business entry, business location, market competition and business insolvency.

"ARTA is confident that the country's ranking will continue to improve with the full implementation of the government's efforts that are designed to enhance the delivery of government services," the Office of the President-attached agency said.

"We recognize the need for a whole-of-nation approach that underscores the significance of coordinated and harmonized alignment of relevant service delivery from the government to the stakeholders."

The B-Ready report, it also said, "may not yet fully capture the impact of the government's recent initiatives, [but] we are optimistic about the continued improvements in the country's business environment moving forward."

The World Bank said that the B-Ready report was still being refined in terms of process and methodology. Next year will see coverage expand to 112 economies, while the 2026 list will grow to 184.

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Source: Manila Times