THE Malaysian Board of Technologists (MBOT) is in full swing to boost women’s participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) since launching their Women Technologist Chapter (WTC) last June.
WTC marked its first effort to nurture and empower women involved in STEM by hosting the “Red LIPS Hi- Tea Session” recently.
“Despite having a large number of women graduates in the country, women participation in the STEM workforce is still lacking and there is a wide gender gap that needs to be addressed.
MBOT statistics still show a gender gap in professional certification as of Oct 2022 only 22% of women are certified as technologist and 7% as technicians said Datuk Ts. Ir. Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir, President of MBOT during her opening speech.
“It is high time for women to be more competitive to catch up in the digitalised and globalised era.”
[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”block” ihc_mb_who=”unreg” ihc_mb_template=”3″ ]She added that women empowerment is certainly beyond women taking up leadership positions. Women’s contribution in middle and lower management is vital too. This Hi-Tea event is a great platform for us to build a strong professional network and widen our horizons.
With the theme “Women in Technology”, the event showcased prominent women in Malaysia as the panelists to inspire the younger generation with a visible role model. The panelist lineup discussed on striking a balance between home and work, multitasking, leadership qualities, and challenges faced by women professionals.
“A woman’s role constantly shifts from a daughter, wife, mother and eventually they take on multiple roles in society, boardrooms or home. Managing time wisely plays a role to ensure duties are being performed,” said Ts. Norhasita binti Mohd Yusof, General Manager of Telekom Malaysia.
“Women are natural multitaskers,” added Datin Ts. Dr Mahaletchumy Arujanan, Executive Director of the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC).
Aireen Omar, Air Asia Group’s President (Air Asia Digital), highlighted delegating jobs accordingly is an approach to strike a balance between family and career. At times the family will need more focus than the career, thus delegating the tasks will smoothen the process.
“We practice flexible hours in our office so it helps the workforce to give enough attention to both family and career regardless the gender. Schedule, Delegate, and Balance are my key words,” said Aireen.
Aireen also stressed three values for a woman in a leadership position which are communication, empowerment, and empathy.
“Empathy in leadership and making employees feel valued is crucial to retain women in the workforce,” echoed Mahaletchumy.
Mahaletchumy added that; “It is our responsibility to make the spouse understand that career has equal priority as the family for a woman.”
Inputs from the panelists have inspired women to excel in different spheres of life. A woman can break the glass ceiling by being an expert at work and a nurturer at home was the key takeaway message from the panel discussion.
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