Malaysia’s large banks have the highest board representation for women across the Southeast Asian region.

Women make up more than 30 percent of the boards of top Malaysian lenders, compared with only 13 percent in Singapore and 9 percent on average in the Philippines, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from published information on the three largest banks in each of five Southeast Asian (ASEAN) countries.

The diversity seen in Malaysian banks is likely due to the country’s corporate governance code, which requires that women hold at least 30 percent of board seats at local firms, said Meggin Thwing Eastman, the Boston-based head of impact and screening research at MSCI Inc.

Is Compulsory Representation Necessary?

Banks with more women on their boards tend to perform better in measures including return on assets when female participation reaches a «critical level» of between 13 percent and 17 percent, provided the banks are well capitalized, according to a February study published by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

However, of all the 15 banks in the Bloomberg survey, the best performer was in Thailand, where a certain level of board representation for women is not compulsory, «Bloomberg» (behind paywall) reported. Bangkok-based Kasikornbank has seven female directors or almost 40 percent of the 18-member board.