The lunch marked the launch of a new campaign by the 30% Club Hong Kong to bring the number of all male Hang Seng Index company boards to zero by 2018 and to increase the percentage of women directors on HSI company boards to 20% by 2010, working toward a long-term goal of 30%. 

In the three years since the launch of the 30% Club HK, Hong Kong has witnessed a slight improvement in the proportion of female directors on boards and awareness of the issue has dramatically increased. Women currently comprise 11.6% of HSI board directorships and 12.2% of all Hong Kong listed company board directorships. This compares to 9.4% and 10.7% respectively in 2013. Positive momentum is more evident in the decreasing number of all-male boards. There are still 12 HSI companies with all-male boards today, compared with 19 HSI companies with all-male boards in 2013. 

However, other international jurisdictions have been making significantly faster progress in the proportion of board seats held by women, namely the UK (26% of FTSE-100 board seats), the US (23.3% of S&P 100 board seats) and Australia (23.8% of ASX-200 board seats). 

As Dr Dame Rosanna Wong observed, Hong Kong has an opportunity to lead by example in the region and to demonstrate that "diversity of thought, proper risk management and good decision-making are the by-products of healthy diverse boards." 

Please click here for a copy of Tim Payne's remarks announcing the new targets. I am very grateful to Tim who co-chairs the 30% Club HK steering group with me for his energetic leadership in this area and also to Ginny Wilmerding, another Brunswick partner, for all her help with the campaign launch. 

For media coverage of the campaign so far, please click here. 

PS In case you missed it, click here to watch Michelle Obama's heartfelt and personal response to recent revelations of misogynistic behavior on the part of the Republican presidential candidate. As Mrs Obama says, "the measure of any society is how it treats its women and girls."