For the first time, a report published by Community Business and Cranfield University looks at the representation of women on the corporate boards of Hong Kong’s top companies as listed on the Hang Seng Index (HIS).
 Out of a total of 585 directorships on the HIS, 52 (8.9%) are held by women. This percentage is comparable to Australia (8.3%) but lower than the UK (11.7%), US (14.5%) and Canada (15%).
Twenty-eight of the 42 HIS-listed companies have women on their boards. At the top of the list is China Construction Bank Corporation with 5 women on a board of 17. Bank of China is second with 3 women out of 15 board members and Cheung Kong Holdings is third with 4 women on a board of 21.
The women interviewed for the study were surprised by its finding: 8.9% is a lower percentage than they expected.
The reasons mentioned for this result were the limited talent pool, Hong Kong’s male dominant society and the fact that women tend not to be as well networked as men and don’t get considered for board positions.
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