Only 11% of directors of publicly listed companies in Malta are women

• Close to have of the companies on the stock exchange have at least one woman on the Board.
• However, only one board is chaired by a woman.
• Five recommendations to improve gender balance in the boardroom.

To mark International Women’s Day, Seed has launched the first edition of “Glass. Walls and ceilings in Malta’s listed companies.”

International research has shown that increasing board diversity is not only the right thing to do; it also leads to better business outcomes. Increased gender diversity at all levels, leads to smarter decision-making, contributes to an organization’s bottom line, powers innovation, and protects against blind spots, among other benefits. To this end, Seed analysed the Board composition of Malta’s listed companies and presented the main headline results in Glass. In addition, the report also gives the European dimension and research on the importance of a diversified corporate governance. 21 women directors and entrepreneurs give their perspective.

JP Fabri, co-founding partner of Seed said that “as a company, we continue with our ethos of preparing and publishing research that contributes to the national debate and as we reflect on International Women’s Day, we wanted to put the spotlight on the boardrooms of Malta’s listed companies. By looking at positions on these boards, there is no doubt that both the walls and ceilings are of glass. Although close to half of the companies have at least one female director, there is no gender balance.”

Co-founding partner Nicky Gouder added that, “Seed remains committed to research and Glass will become a yearly publication which from next year will look into further detail of females not only in directorship position but also in senior management position. We do hope that our contribution sparks debate and thinking in boardrooms and will contribute to continue breaking the glass walls and ceilings.”

The report also presents five recommendations that should contribute to breaking the glass in Malta’s boardrooms, these being:

1. Set out percentage targets of women on boards in 2025 and 2030
2. Disclose the proportion of women in boards and senior management in the Annual Reports
3. Listing authority should issue a policy on board diversity
4. Listed companies should report on gender balance matters in their Annual Report
5. Companies should start advertising non-executive directorship positions to enhance diversity

Glass walls and ceilings are unfortunately not a thing of the past. They remain very much in the present. And unless action is taken, they will remain in the future too.

The boardroom remains a glass house. It’s up to us to break the walls and ceilings.

The report is available to download from https://seedconsultancy.com/glass/