The 30% Club Malaysia launched in May this year aims to be the first in ASEAN to achieve 30 per cent representation of women on boards.

It said worldwide research showed that companies with diverse boards performed better than those without and yet the percentage of women on corporate boards remained low.

In a statement, the Club said the percentage of women on the boards of Bursa Malaysia's top 100 companies was just 14 per cent.

While the 30% Club Malaysia is making progress in taking more measures to accelerate this initiative, it is far from the aspired target of 30 per cent.

Despite facing an uphill battle, co-founder Anne Abraham said she did not get tired of the issues and dialogues on female under-representation on corporate boards.

"We're trying to change mindsets and are actively engaging the 30% Club steering committee to really drive this agenda by convincing the key communities, namely the investors, recruiters and the public listed companies that it makes good business sense," said Abraham.

The next steering committee meeting is planned for January 2016.

Meanwhile, the first 30% Club steering committee was hosted by Maybank Chairman, Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin while the second, held in October, was hosted by Petronas Chairman, Tan Sri Sidek Hassan.

Co-founder Datuk Aziz Bakar noted that Sidek had been a strong believer in diversity across the board, recognising the need to create a sustainable pool of capable women over the long term and stressing that women should be able to succeed based on their own merit.

During Sidek's tenure as Chief Secretary to the Government, several women had been promoted to the position of Secretary-General of prominent ministries and since becoming Chairman of Petronas, two women have been appointed to the Petronas board.