Chitra Hepburn

Head of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Client Coverage - Asia Pacific, Msci

Search every verified Chitra Hepburn interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Chitra Hepburn, head of Asia-Pacific ESG and climate at MSCI, said in February 2025 that the gender pay gap at "very senior levels" is not as wide as it is throughout the workforce. She stated that at the board level "there isn't that much disparity" and that board representation has increased year on year, with the region on track to reach a 30% milestone by 2026. Hepburn noted that regulations in Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong requiring at least one woman on the board have made a "massive difference" to statistics, while Australia and New Zealand lead at over 40%. She also highlighted a gap in women holding chair positions, which remains static at 9%, and said retention of women on boards is an issue, with women spending an average of 3.5 years on a board compared to their male counterparts. Hepburn added that sectors like healthcare have over 56% of companies with more than 30% women on boards, while information technology and communications have regressed to having more all-male boards. In a 2018 interview, Hepburn discussed her career trajectory from investment banking to sustainability, noting that she has lived in China for 17 years and observed the country's shift from "development on steroids" to a more sustainable pace. She said that finding like-minded people and carving out time for sustainability work were key challenges, and that seeing Shanghai's transformation kept her optimistic about change. Hepburn stated that "the whole point of the exercise is going to make a return" for funds, and that regulatory mechanisms have reduced compromises over time in ESG and impact investing.