International Women’s Day 2020: Meet The Minds In The Recruitment Industry On Workplace Equality

 

 

As we mark the 16th International Women’s Day in 2020 with the theme ‘I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights,’ we have decided to ask around the office to gather the views of the team at The Edge Partnership to understand how far women have come in breaking down stereotypes at the workplace, and creating a culture of equality.

 

As an internationally focused recruitment company with predominantly female staff, in this blog, women from The Edge Partnership across offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India voice their opinions on empowering other women to innovate more.
 

1. What does International Women’s Day slogan ‘I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights’ mean for you in your work life?

 

Devi Kumar (Hong Kong): The slogan means that we have created an organisation that unequivocally embraces women’s rights. Not only do we have more women working at The Edge, but also in leadership roles. We offer autonomy and flexible working options to all, especially for working mothers.

 

Reema Bhullar (Singapore): I am blessed to be able to say I was born and am living in a generation where there is more equality than ever before, and I am surrounded by people who believe in this vehemently. From a family and work standpoint – I have been given equal opportunities to achieve my dreams. We work with leaders who look beyond gender, race and social backgrounds and believe in equality across the board.

 

Vanessa Leonhardt (Singapore): It is encouraging to see the global changes that are happening, especially in Asia where women are often seen as second-class citizens. We need to make a point: women are not any less smart or less educated in the first place.

Priya Bala (Malaysia): We consciously try to employ people from different backgrounds and ethnicity to ensure we have a healthy balance. In presenting talents with consideration for roles, we will include women of diverse backgrounds. It is great that our clients are open and non-discriminatory in their approach – they will select the best candidate for the role regardless of gender. For some of our clients, we have had to gently advise them that they need to have more women representation on their leadership bench and to celebrate the fact that they do.

 

2. Who is your favourite female leader?

 

Devi Kumar (Hong Kong): I am taking this outside the corporate world: Malala Yousafzai and Ellen DeGeneres. They both lead by example and are not afraid to be different!

 

Purvi Vyas (India): Indra Nooyi, Pepsi CEO , my ex-boss Farida Charania at Nastrac (now Sales & Business Leader EMEA at XOPA AI).
 

Saylee Joshi (India): Quite a few globally which includes Sudha Murty, the late Sushma Swaraj, Kate Winslet, Sushmita Sen, Sheryl Sandberg and Mary Kom.

 

Sudha Murthy has had a deep impact on me. She is the Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, a well-known author and a teacher who was the only female in her engineering class, and doing her practicals on the floor; not only did she pursue her MTech but was also a ‘gold medalist’.

 

Reema Bhullar (Singapore): Sheryl Sandberg.

 

Shu Ai Chen (Singapore): Indra Nooyi.

 

Vanessa Leonhardt (Singapore): Margaret Thatcher.

 

Nafisah Arabee (Malaysia): Yasmin Mogahed.

 

Priya Bala (Malaysia): I recently read the book “When the chicken dies, everyone cries” by Boonsiri Somchit. It was about the author’s authentic insights into leadership and her life lessons — this really resonated with me. I found her very inspiring and she is now my new favourite female leader.

 

3. Do you see your clients run any or enough initiatives to encourage employment for women in leadership roles?

 

 

Purvi Vyas (India): We are seeing more companies encouraging flexible working arrangements so that women with young kids or babies are motivated to return to the workforce. This allows them the time to climb the ladder and get into leadership roles, achieve their goals and ambitions. It encourages them to not have to make that choice between family and work.

 

Saylee Joshi (India): Yes, of course. For example, the investment banking industry in Asia is prioritising hiring female talent to bridge the gap at the leadership level and to target greater parity and equality. Clients are increasingly hiring skilled female talent, and offering them flexible work scheduling to attract and retain them.
 

Priya Bala (Malaysia): Some companies are offering flexible working hours and work-from-home as well as part-time options for their female staff. More and more companies are providing nursing facilities and even nurseries for kids as well as longer maternity/paternity leave.

 

In the communications industry, where most of the staff are women, they have had to step up and address women’s needs to continue working and developing into leadership roles, or run the risk of losing their key staff when they enter motherhood and the next phase of their lives.
 

4. What’s the most important piece of advice for women thinking of starting a career in specialist fields or industries?

 

Saylee Joshi (India): In the banking and finance industry, due to the changing scenario of automation and new technologies, women should get themselves into the continuous process of skills enhancement, learning new technologies and must adapt in a fast-paced world.

 

Reema Bhullar (Singapore): Believing in yourself. You are good enough – no one needs to tell you that – you need to believe that. Like Sheryl Sandberg had once said, “You can make a difference from your first day in the office.”

 

Vanessa Leonhardt (Singapore): Perhaps, women must take more risks. Take the bull by the horns and accept challenges.

 

Priya Bala (Malaysia): Do not apologise for being a woman! Women have so many qualities – empathy, EQ, listening skills, multi-tasking ability, efficiency and so on – that are necessary to excel in leadership roles. It is possible to have a seat at the boardroom table as long as you are prepared to commit and work hard for it.

 

5. What do you think is the biggest challenge for women in corporate roles today?

 

Devi Kumar (Hong Kong): I think despite the various initiatives, women in some industries and levels still need to fight to be heard or be taken seriously. I believe if male leaders in every field took the initiative to include and support their women colleagues more often, this would no longer be a challenge.

 

Reema Bhullar (Singapore): Gender pay gap – this is an age-old issue, one you would think would be addressed in most organisations, however this is still a matter that plagues many women. Salary negotiations are never easy, and women tend to make concessions as they feel obligated to command a lower salary for flexible arrangements to manage their kids. With companies shifting to flexible working arrangements, remote working, and with the technological tools available out there – women shouldn’t need to make these adjustments anymore.

 

Vanessa Leonhardt (Singapore): The biggest challenge is to strike a balance – work vs. home; respected manager vs. bossy boss.

 

Nafisah Arabee (Malaysia): To prove that we are capable and as equal to men.
 

6. How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does that mean to you?

 

Purvi Vyas (India): We should always support each other and have a community of our own, be each other’s strength and not pull each other down or be judgmental.

 

Reema Bhullar (Singapore): I can’t stress enough how important this is! I am surrounded by women who celebrate each other’s success – personally and professionally. Women can lead and pave the way for other women.

 

Nafisah Arabee (Malaysia): Growing up with three sisters made me realise the importance of lifting and supporting each other and this means to be independent while succeeding either as a working mom or wife.
 

7. On International Women’s Day, what is the most important message you want to send out to women thinking about their careers?

 

Devi Kumar (Hong Kong): Dare to speak your mind. Dare to be different!

 

Saylee Joshi (India): To women out there, being a student forever to learn something new everyday would help us boost our careers.

 

Reema Bhullar (Singapore): Never settle for less and believe in yourself.

 

Purvi Vyas (India): Find your own place, do what you want to and do it the way you want to do it. Stop trying to have it all because no one has it all.

 

Vanessa Leonhardt (Singapore): KEYS – Keep empowering yourself successfully!

 

Priya Bala (Malaysia): You are worthy, and you deserve it. Don’t sell yourself short.

 

Nafisah Arabee (Malaysia): Keep going and strive for success.

 

We hope that all women marking this day enjoy the celebrations. Happy International Women’s Day from the team at The Edge Partnership!