• WHY WE DO IT

    More than half of Asia’s Boards have no diversity – a risky composition for corporate governance and growth.

    The issue is of particular concern, where a failure to recruit and retain able and diverse leaders can only exacerbate the acute talent shortage and growth issues that many companies already face.

     

    DiversityDirectory is a regional directory initiative designed for companies and their investors to tackle 3 challenges:

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    1. Improving corporate governance for enhanced performance

    After controlling for size, industry, and other corporate governance measures, it has been consistently found that there are significant positive relationships between the fraction of diversity representation on the board and firm value. Increasing the diversity of Senior Management and Board Members helps achieve the objectives of boosting shareholder value and representing the voice of stakeholders for enhanced oversight and decision making and effective execution.

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    2. Bridging national borders and extending talent pools for diversity

    Asia’s economies are slowing down and companies that fail to bring diversity onto their Senior Leadership team and Board are taking several major risks. They risk overlooking qualified director candidates in a market that is drastically short on talent, they risk missing an opportunity to improve corporate governance by increasing the diversity of voices and views, and they risk the opportunity to better connect with the very people piloting Asia’s boom — youth and women.

     

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    3. Enabling innovation and reputation

    Today’s corporate leaders must be able to design and innovate products for new segments of Asia Pacific consumers and create strategies for multiple fast-changing markets, often in a digital and global context. A diverse group of Senior Management and Directors is more likely to raise questions, challenge the status quo and groupthink or spot new opportunities.

  • WHAT WE DO

    The DiversityDirectory Asia Pacific Foundation's mission is to provide a platform for capacity building, dialogue and thought-leadership on diversity, for enhanced corporate governance and performance across the region.

    1. DIVERSITYDIRECTORY

      THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR DATABASE FOR THE ASIA PACIFIC

      OUR STORY

      The DiversityDirectory is a regional initiative born following the lively debate on Diversity in Board and Senior Leadership Composition during the Singapore Management University "Wee Kim Wee Conference Corporate Governance and Sustainability for Economic Development in Asia" held in March 2014.

       

      Initially discussed by the CFA Institute and the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group from a Gender and Board perspective, the dialogue led by the Singapore Institute of Directors and others extended the discussion to a more inclusive view of improving Diversity in all its forms, across middle management, leadership and board levels to improve corporate governance and performance. There was consensus from this debate that diversity was imperative for improved governance and performance.

       

      While Senior Leaders and Directors are members of their own country's Institute of Director Database, Industry Institutes or Alumni Association, no neutral regional Director database exists to support the practical identification of diverse Director talent in the Asia Pacific. Europe has the EU2020 Global Board Ready Women's Database, and the US have GMI3D. DiversityDirectory is the new diverse Directors data source for the Asia Pacific region.

       

      For 2 years, we engaged with representative government, academia, the investment community, corporates, search firms, stock exchanges, special interest community groups and not-for-profits across the Asia Pacific to garner an understanding of the region's specific talent demands and unique market requirements. This has resulted in a comprehensive application process designed to provide screening of quality candidates and a rigorous data protection and privacy framework for its operations.

       

      DiversityDirectory was soft-launched in October 2015 with a database of qualified Senior Leaders and Directors across the Asia Pacific region. Now in beta, with top Executives being recruited from across the region, it’s the first-ever regional directory resource for the Asia Pacific that helps companies and their investors discover and find diverse leadership talent.

       

      DiversityDirectory is a social enterprise and not-for-profit initiative originally incubated at the SMU Lien Centre for Social Innovation. Since 2016, the Diversity Directory Asia Pacific Foundation has been operating as a benchmarking research institute in the Asia Pacific. Contributing to policy standards of the Stock Exchanges, academic debate, corporate diversity dialogues and ESG standards and disclosure internationally.

    2. Our Strategic Partners

      The DiversityDirectory Asia Pacific Foundation is very proud of our Strategic Partners.

      ASSOCIATION OF EXECUTIVE SEARCH CONSULTANTS

      AESC

      ASSOCIATION OF EXECUTIVE SEARCH CONSULTANTS

      Since 1959, AESC has set the standard for quality and ethics in executive search and leadership consulting worldwide. Because AESC members must commit and adhere to the AESC's industry and government recognized Code of Professional Practice and Standards of Excellence, client organizations worldwide can be assured that AESC members are able to serve as trusted advisors for their most important engagements.

      • 350+ AESC member executive search & leadership consulting firms
      • 9,000 AESC member executive search & leadership consulting professionals
      • 70+ Countries represented by AESC membership
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      BLUESTEPS

      BOARD DIRECTORS PLATFORM

      DDAPAC members enjoy a 30% discount on BlueSteps Membership. As the executive career service of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), BlueSteps is a discreet career-long resource that connects subscribed members of the DiversityDirectory to 350 top executive search firms around the world. Only leading executive recruiters at AESC member search firms have access to a Members BlueSteps career profile, so our Members career information and BlueSteps membership is entirely confidential. Members of the DiversityDirectory who sign up to BlueSteps have exclusive access to career management resources tailored for top executives, including expert webinars, recordings and AESC and BlueSteps research.

      • Since most executive searches are confidential, search consultants prefer to search the BlueSteps Database, rather than post an open search. DDAPAC BlueSteps Members, have access to the AESC Executive Search Firms' 200-300 current open executive searches, including many that were exclusively posted directly to BlueSteps by AESC member search consultants. 
      • DDAPAC BlueSteps members have access to a team of best-in-class resume writers and executive career coaches to empower them with the customized tools they need to stand out and attract the attention of executive search consultants. 
      • BlueSteps Executive Career Services also equip DDAPAC members with a powerful suite of tools and services tailored to the needs of senior-level executives.
      • Members can also access the International Executive Search Directory of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants, the most comprehensive and detailed information available on top executive search firms and search consultants. Updated daily, the AESC directory includes information on over 350 member firms in 75 countries, which employ over 8,000 executive search professionals. 
      • DDAPAC BlueSteps members can also use the directory to connect directly with executive search consultants worldwide.
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