More women must join company boards
By: Atty. Euney Marie J. Mata-Perez on March 5, 2026
IT is Women’s Month, and we call for more women to join the boards of directors of companies nationwide.
Gender diversity is an economic and governance imperative, not a slogan or a compliance check box. It has been recognized that having a board diversity policy is a move to avoid groupthink and ensure that optimal decision-making is achieved.
The Philippines has been recognized as a global leader in gender equality. It is back into the top 20, climbing five places to rank 20th out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report released in June 2025. With an overall gender parity score of 78.1 percent, a 0.2-point improvement from 77.9 percent in 2024, the Philippines reasserts its leadership as Asia’s most gender-equal country, ranking third in the East Asia and the Pacific region, behind New Zealand and Australia. (https://pcw.gov.ph/ph-reclaims-spot-in-global-top-20-remains-asias-leader-in-gender-equality/).
However, there is still a need to increase women representation in Philippine corporate boards. It has been reported that only 10.33 percent of directors in publicly listed companies (PLC) are women from August 2025 to February 2026. This number was already a substantial improvement (more than double) from the 4.99 percent from August 2024 to August 2025.
The NOWCD, or NextGen Organization of Women Corporate Directors, founded in 2021, aims to increase female representation in company boards. It seeks to leverage strategic partnerships to increase the number of women sitting in Philippine boardrooms to 30 percent by 2030.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supports board diversity. At NOWCD’s general membership meeting on Feb. 16, SEC Chairman Francis Lim spoke on and affirmed the agency’s commitment to gender diversity and its support to increase more women in boards.
In this regard, Lim cited the following SEC issuances and initiatives:
– SEC Memorandum Circular (MC) 19, Series of 2016 (SEC MC 19 on the Code of Corporate Governance for PLCs), promotes gender diversity as part of stronger corporate governance and market sustainability of PLCs. Section 1.4 of SEC MC 19 recommends that PLC boards adopt a policy on diversity. This policy is not limited to gender diversity. It also includes diversity in age, ethnicity, culture, skills, competence and knowledge. A good example given is to increase the number of female directors, including female independent directors.
– Pursuant to SEC MC 09, Series of 2019, which sets out the Guidelines on the Issuance of Social Bonds under the Asean Social Bonds Standards in the Philippines, bonds have been issued to support women. ASA Philippines’ (2023) first Gender Bond in 2023 raised funds for gender-focused microfinance for women-led enterprises, and City Savings Bank’s Social Bond (2024) sought expansion of credit access for women in low- and lower-middle-income segments for enterprise development and income augmentation.
– The SEC has also given Gender and Development Awards recognizing and advancing gender-inclusive leadership since 2022, honoring organizations that strengthen women’s representation at the board level and individuals who champion sustainability with a clear social and inclusion dimension.
The Malaysian example
However, the country has yet to legislate or mandatorily require, or even strongly recommend, more women representation in boards.
We hope to follow Malaysia where all Bursa Malaysia-listed companies are required to have at least one female director on their boards. Also, the updated Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance 2021 recommends that boards comprise at least 30 percent women directors. Various organizations in Malaysia have thus launched initiatives like the Board-Ready Women Program to provide training, networking and skill development for aspiring female board members, and the creation of a registry to connect qualified women with companies seeking board members.
In any case, NOWCD, along with its partners, such as the Institute of Corporate Directors, are launching programs and forums that will help encourage women to become corporate directors, and to make them ready or prepared for the job. This is consistent with NOWCD’s mission to foster a powerful and trusted community of women corporate directors, with the goal of increasing representation of women in leadership positions of public and/or private company boards and inspire visionary boards nationwide.
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.
The article was published at the More to Follow Column at The Manila Times on March 5, 2026. Please see this link.