The latest report from MSCI reveals a significant rise in female representation on corporate boards across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, with a 1.4 percentage point increase in 2025. This marks the largest growth in three years for APAC-domiciled constituents of the MSCI ACWI Index, as highlighted by Moeko Porter, APAC Corporate Governance Research Lead. The report, titled “Women on Boards and Beyond 2025,” tracks the progress of women’s representation on boards since 2009.
Globally, women now occupy 28.3% of board seats at large- and mid-cap companies, with nearly half of these companies having at least 30% female directors. In APAC, the percentage of women on boards rose to 20.7% in 2025, up from 19.3% the previous year. Notably, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia saw the most significant increases in female board representation.
Despite this progress, APAC still lags behind the global average, with only 22.4% of companies having at least 30% women on their boards compared to the global figure of 48.7%. However, the region’s upward momentum of 3.1 percentage points surpassed the global increase of 2.5 percentage points.
Sector-wise, healthcare and information technology lead in female board representation, whilst energy and industrials remain the lowest. The report also notes a modest increase in women holding board leadership positions, with APAC seeing gains at the board chair, CEO, and CFO levels.
The findings underscore the ongoing efforts and challenges in achieving gender balance on corporate boards, with structural factors and market environments playing crucial roles in shaping diversity outcomes.
