Responding to a question on female leadership in central banks, Nor Shamsiah said it was not just because of their gender, but because they were 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 careers, and rewarding them based on merit, had worked for the bank.

“We have an equal representation of men and women, and women account for more than 40% of our senior officers,” she said.

Nor Shamsiah is the second woman governor of Bank Negara, taking over from Zeti Akhtar Aziz, who was the first.