SINGAPORE, January 20, 2025 — Listed companies in Singapore have made significant progress in their board diversity journeys over the last five years. This is according to the latest 2025 Board Diversity Index (BDI) developed by WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and James Cook University (Singapore Campus) (JCU), and launched today.
The 2025 Index is an update to the one developed by WTW in 2020 and provides a snapshot of Singapore’s board diversity landscape. It analysed public disclosures from 553 companies with primary-listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). They included Large-Cap, Mid-Cap and Small-Cap companies, as well Real-Estate Investment Trusts and Business Trusts, and Catalist listed companies. The 2025 BDI is based on latest available publicly disclosed information, such as company annual reports, websites and director biographies, as at 30 September 2024 collected by JCU, as well as research and analysis conducted by WTW.
“It remains critical for boards to ensure that they have cognitive diversity; that is diversity of thought, perspectives and experiences to enhance the quality of boardroom discussion.”
Shai Ganu | Managing Director and Global Practice Leader, Executive Compensation and Board Advisory, WTW
Consistent with the previous study, eight different attributes of diversity are used to identify the exemplar mix and representation of boards. These include: age, gender, industry experience, domain/functional expertise, international experience, cultural ethnicity, board independence and tenure of directors.
Shai Ganu, Managing Director and Global Practice Leader, Executive Compensation and Board Advisory at WTW said, “The nine-year rule seems to have helped improve diversity on Singapore boards, which is heartening to see, but there is still room for improvement particularly for small-cap and Catalist companies. It remains critical for boards to ensure that they have cognitive diversity; that is diversity of thought, perspectives and experiences to enhance the quality of boardroom discussions.”
“Over the past few years, companies seem to have placed stronger emphasis on gender diversity, multi-disciplinary domain expertise and experience across diverse industries. Whilst companies should continue being deliberate in skills-based board nominations, they will be well served by also creating an inclusive culture, where diverse opinions are allowed to thrive, which in turn can enhance quality of decision making.”
Based on the 2025 BDI, WTW found that listed companies in Singapore have achieved improvements in most attributes of board diversity, particularly in gender, tenture spread, board independence, domain expertise and industry expertise.
Terence Quek, CEO of Singapore Institute of Directors said, “It is heartening to see the advancement made by companies surveyed since the last report in 2020. The findings of the Board Diversity Index 2025 show both our progress and the challenges that remain. They underscore the undeniable value that diversity brings to boardrooms: enhanced decision-making, innovation and resilience in the face of complexity.”
Companies that have exhibited exemplar diversity standards across four or more of the attributes can be found in the link below. More on the 2025 BDI findings can also be downloaded below.
At WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), we provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of our colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, we help organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance.
Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we uncover opportunities for sustainable success—and provide perspective that moves you.
The Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) is Singapore’s national association for company directors. Established in 1998, our mission is to transform boards and empower board directors to be champions of good governance. SID works with regulators and partners to serve as the voice for directors and facilitates consultations and feedback sessions on regulatory matters. In advocating for good governance, SID advances thought leadership and benchmarking research and indices on corporate governance and directorship issues.
SID builds competencies and capabilities to enhance boardroom skills of directors for informed decision-making. An accreditation programme serves to set standards for and showcase best practices of good governance. The organisation supports members on their directorship journey with courses, workshops, advanced masterclasses, forum discussions and pit-stops. SID connects and strengthens the ecosystem with initiatives such as mentoring and networking. The Governance for Good Alliance is an initiative by SID to bring together key stakeholders who help advance our vision for every board director to be a champion of good governance.
The Singapore campus of James Cook University is fully owned by James Cook University Australia, which is ranked in the top 2% of universities in the world.[1]
James Cook University Australia established its Singapore campus in 2003 as part of its expressed intent of internationalising its activities and offers a suite of university level programs at the Singapore campus covering the areas of Business, Information Technology, Psychology, Guidance and Counselling, Science, Commerce, Accounting, Aquaculture, Environmental Science, Games Design, Tourism and Hospitality.
James Cook University offers Higher Degree by Research programs such as Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Philosophy and pathways to a higher degree.
Additionally, the campus offers courses at the pre-university level, specifically designed to provide pathways for students who are unable to immediately meet university entrance standards.
| Title | File Type | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| WTW 2025 Board Diversity Index-companies | .1 MB | |
| WTW 2025 Board Diversity Index-summary | 1.9 MB |
