By: Atty. Euney Marie Mata Perez on March 6,2025

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 (E. Denis, Enhancing gender diversity on boards and in senior management of listed companies, available at https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2022/09/enhancing-gender-diversity-on-boards-and-in-senior-management-of-listed-companies_50213bfe/4f7ca695-en.pdf).

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.

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.

We should continue to advocate for more women involvement and participation in boards, even without mandated quotas, and for them to be trailblazers and inspiring as directors. Women, on the other hand, should be aware of their corporate board opportunities, consciously develop themselves to be prepared for the job, and know that they can make significant contributions and be inspiring as directors. The world is replete with opportunities.

Euney Marie J. Mata-Perez is a CPA-Lawyer and the Managing Partner of Mata-Perez, Tamayo & Francisco (MTF Counsel).  She is a corporate, M&A and tax lawyer and has been ranked as one of the top 100 lawyers of the Philippines by Asia Business Law Journal and is the Chair of the Tax Committee of the Management Association of the Philippines. This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional advice where the facts and circumstances warrant.  If you have any question or comment regarding this article, you may email the author at info@mtfcounsel.com or visit MTF website at www.mtfcounsel.com