The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has extended the deadline for listed companies to appoint at least one-woman independent director to their boards, giving firms until December 31, 2026 to comply with the requirement.

According to the notification, Clause 1(2)(a) of the Corporate Governance Code-2018 requires every listed company to appoint one-woman independent director to its board. BSEC had previously issued several directives setting and extending the compliance deadline, with the most recent instruction, issued on July 29, 2025, requiring companies to meet the requirement by December 31, 2025.

Under the latest decision, the deadline has been extended by another year to December 31, 2026, allowing companies that have yet to appoint a woman independent director additional time to comply.

BSEC has also instructed the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) to immediately communicate the decision to all listed companies.