Mr Cheng Shoong Tat raises some interesting points about diversity in boardrooms (Let shareholders decide on diversity in boardrooms, Sept 26).

Companies are profit-making entities concerned primarily with shareholder returns. Given that company profitability involves multi-factorial considerations, it is difficult to prove that increased boardroom diversity leads to better economic outcomes. Empirical evidence from research on the correlation between boardroom diversity and shareholder returns is also conflicted.

For instance, no evidence has been found that boardroom gender diversity affects market returns to shareholders. Likewise, no significant relationship has been found between boardroom gender diversity and the Tobin's Q measure of market value, nor with return on equity.

From a qualitative perspective, increased boardroom diversity along gender and cultural lines could be a worthy endeavour, though, and could lead to improved governance and decision-making.

Hence, companies should probably focus on workplace diversity in general. In resource-scarce Singapore, where everyone counts, we could achieve much leverage and synergy by doing so.

Now that sounds like a truly win-win proposition.

Woon Wee Min