KUALA LUMPUR, 6 March 2020 – To mark the annual “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality”, Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia” or the “Exchange”) today launched its “Equality for Equity” campaign designed to raise awareness on the importance of equal access to investment opportunities and to reduce the gender investing gap in the Malaysian equity market.
“Equality for Equity” is centred on leveraging Bursa Malaysia’s unique position as a frontline regulator and public-listed company (PLC) to inspire and promote equality in the marketplace and the wider community. The launch of the campaign is aligned with the core objectives of the “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality”, a collaboration involving stock exchanges around the world to raise awareness on the importance of women’s economic empowerment to business growth and development.
“While we continue with efforts to reduce gender equality gaps in the workplace, it is important to acknowledge the existence of the gender investing gap in our equity market as well. In Malaysia, women investors only make up about 30% of retail investors in our equity market. Therefore, achieving Equality for Equity will enable both women and men to make financial decisions that will have a positive impact on their financial well-being.”
Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia
The launch event featured a dialogue session titled “Closing the Gender Investing Gap Benefits the Business and Society”, featuring Y.Bhg Dato’ Kong Sooi Lin, Independent NonExecutive Director of AMMB Holdings Bhd, Y.Bhg Datin Ami Moris, Chief Executive Officer of Maybank Kim Eng Group and Ms Chong Chye Neo, Independent, Non-Executive Director of Bursa Malaysia.
The “Equality for Equity” campaign is symbolized through its unique imagery and tagline to express a powerful message.
Bursa Malaysia would like to thank local advertising agency, People ’n Rich-H for the contribution towards the creative work for the campaign. This message will live through the “Equality for Equity” campaign t-shirts, worn by Bursa Malaysia employees, industry leaders and corporate personalities supporting as ambassadors to raise awareness about the gender investing gap and encourage more women to start Bursa Malaysia’s investing journey.
Beyond its social engagement activities, the Exchange will leverage on its online education platforms such as Bursa Marketplace and Bursa Sustain to provide relevant tools, articles and programmes that can help inspire more women to consider equity investing for positive wealth creation.
In conjunction with International Women’s Day, Bursa Malaysia and participating brokers will also be promoting women’s participation in the equity market by waiving Central Depository System (CDS) account opening fees for all women throughout March 2020.
Bursa Malaysia will continue to engage with the National Council of Women’s Organisation (NCWO), broker partners and other strategic collaborators to develop initiatives that will further drive Equality for Equity in the marketplace.
“There is much work to be done. Reducing the gender investing gap is a key strategic focus for the Exchange over the long-term. While we might not be able to achieve this immediately, we hope this small step can help promote greater awareness and draw attention to the critical role markets can play in closing the gender inequality gaps,”
Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia
To learn more about the “Equality for Equity” campaign and the list of participating brokers,
please visit <http://www.bursamarketplace.com/equality-for-equity/>
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