Is it time to compel listed companies to have more women directors?

THERE can sometimes be a yawning gap between policy and practice, and it’s usually because the former relies on persuasion and encouragement rather than the weight of the law.

Here’s an example. By next year, women should fill 30% or more of the decision-making positions in corporate Malaysia. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that target in June 2011, shortly after the Cabinet had approved it.