KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus hopes more women will be appointed governors of central banks in the next 10 years.

       Responding to a question on female leadership in central banks, Nor Shamsiah said she also hopes the women would be appointed to the job of governor not because of their gender, but because they are the best candidates for the job.

       "One of our core organisational values is respect for diversity. In our experience, a policy of respect for diversity, meritocracy, and transparency works best to alleviate concerns across genders.

       "Men and women have different challenges, and we need to allocate necessary resources to level the playing field,” she said in an interview with Women’s World Banking.

       Nor Shamsiah said BNM’s approach of giving both men and women equal opportunities to develop their career, and rewarding them based on merit has worked for the bank.

       "We have an equal representation of men and women, and women account for more than 40 per cent of our senior officers,” she added. - Bernam