KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — Bursa Malaysia Bhd has launched a campaign called “Equality for Equity” to raise awareness on the importance of equal access to investment opportunities and to reduce the gender investing gap in the Malaysian equity market.
Chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said women investors in Malaysia only made up about 30 per cent of retail investors in the 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,” he said in a statement today.
In conjunction with International Women’s Day, the stock market operator and participating brokers will be promoting women’s participation in the equity market by waiving Central Depository System (CDS) account opening fees for all women throughout March 2020.
He said Bursa Malaysia would also continue to engage with the National Council of Women’s Organisation, its broker partners and other strategic collaborators to develop initiatives that would further drive “Equality for Equity” in the marketplace.
“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,” he added.
Equality for Equity is centred on leveraging Bursa Malaysia’s unique position as a frontline regulator and a public-listed company to inspire and promote equality in the marketplace and the wider community.
The campaign is also 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. — Bernama
