Gender Boardroom Quotas: A Survey of Malaysian Corporate Directors
A number of countries have introduced gender boardroom quotas by which firms are required to appoint at least a certain number or proportion of women to their boards. Subsequently, the government of Malaysia, in 2011, introduced the policy of having at least 30 percent women on corporate boards. T...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
2019
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ijbs.unimas.my/index.php |
| _version_ | 1848801636894375936 |
|---|---|
| author | Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail, Intan Maiza Abd Rahman, Ifa Rizad Mustapa, Shamsul Nahar Abdullah, |
| author_facet | Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail, Intan Maiza Abd Rahman, Ifa Rizad Mustapa, Shamsul Nahar Abdullah, |
| author_sort | Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail, |
| building | OUM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | A number of countries have introduced gender boardroom quotas by which firms are required to appoint at
least a certain number or proportion of women to their boards. Subsequently, the government of Malaysia, in
2011, introduced the policy of having at least 30 percent women on corporate boards. This study seeks the
opinion of corporate directors on whether they are supportive of the policy. In addition, we examine if the
characteristics of the respondents influence their opinion. A questionnaire survey was conducted on a sample
of 84 directors who sit on the boards of listed companies in Malaysia. A majority of the respondents believe
that there should not be any quota for both genders. Some of the respondents comment that it is not gender
that matters; what is more important is the quality of individuals who sit on the board. We find that women
are indifferent, while a majority of the men do not agree with the policy. In addition, directors who have a
family relationship with any other directors tend not to favour the policy, compared to those who do not have
any family relationship. We also find that a majority of the respondents do not agree that women directors
could enhance firm financial performance and social responsibility activities; neither do a majority of them
agree that women could curb unethical conducts. This study is important to the policymakers in that the results
provide insights on the issue of whether the 30 percent quota is necessary. (Abstract by authors) |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:10:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:eprints.oum.edu.my:1203 |
| institution | Open University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:10:37Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:eprints.oum.edu.my:12032020-06-21T07:43:02Z Gender Boardroom Quotas: A Survey of Malaysian Corporate Directors Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail, Intan Maiza Abd Rahman, Ifa Rizad Mustapa, Shamsul Nahar Abdullah, HD28 Management. Industrial Management A number of countries have introduced gender boardroom quotas by which firms are required to appoint at least a certain number or proportion of women to their boards. Subsequently, the government of Malaysia, in 2011, introduced the policy of having at least 30 percent women on corporate boards. This study seeks the opinion of corporate directors on whether they are supportive of the policy. In addition, we examine if the characteristics of the respondents influence their opinion. A questionnaire survey was conducted on a sample of 84 directors who sit on the boards of listed companies in Malaysia. A majority of the respondents believe that there should not be any quota for both genders. Some of the respondents comment that it is not gender that matters; what is more important is the quality of individuals who sit on the board. We find that women are indifferent, while a majority of the men do not agree with the policy. In addition, directors who have a family relationship with any other directors tend not to favour the policy, compared to those who do not have any family relationship. We also find that a majority of the respondents do not agree that women directors could enhance firm financial performance and social responsibility activities; neither do a majority of them agree that women could curb unethical conducts. This study is important to the policymakers in that the results provide insights on the issue of whether the 30 percent quota is necessary. (Abstract by authors) Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 2019 Article PeerReviewed text https://library.oum.edu.my/repository/1203/1/624-gender-boardroom-quotas-a-survey-of-malaysian-corporate-directors http://www.ijbs.unimas.my/index.php Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail, and Intan Maiza Abd Rahman, and Ifa Rizad Mustapa, and Shamsul Nahar Abdullah, (2019) Gender Boardroom Quotas: A Survey of Malaysian Corporate Directors. International Journal of Business and Society, 20 (3). pp. 968-983. https://library.oum.edu.my/repository/1203/ |
| spellingShingle | HD28 Management. Industrial Management Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail, Intan Maiza Abd Rahman, Ifa Rizad Mustapa, Shamsul Nahar Abdullah, Gender Boardroom Quotas: A Survey of Malaysian Corporate Directors |
| title | Gender Boardroom Quotas: A Survey of Malaysian Corporate Directors |
| title_full | Gender Boardroom Quotas: A Survey of Malaysian Corporate Directors |
| title_fullStr | Gender Boardroom Quotas: A Survey of Malaysian Corporate Directors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender Boardroom Quotas: A Survey of Malaysian Corporate Directors |
| title_short | Gender Boardroom Quotas: A Survey of Malaysian Corporate Directors |
| title_sort | gender boardroom quotas: a survey of malaysian corporate directors |
| topic | HD28 Management. Industrial Management |
| url | http://www.ijbs.unimas.my/index.php http://www.ijbs.unimas.my/index.php |