Chapter 3 | WHAT WOMEN WANT 2.0
More seats at the table By Ellie McGuffog
Recent worldwide movements have brought attention to issues all too commonly faced in the workplace. University of London thought leadership events in Malaysia and Singapore explored leadership, diversity and equality in a gendered world as part of the Leading Women celebrations.
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he face of leadership and strength of diversity, an event bringing together the University’s network of alumni, staff and friends, was held at the iconic National Museum of Singapore in April 2018. Professor Mary Stiasny, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) and Chair of the Leading Women celebration, discussed topics pertinent to the working landscape of Singapore and the world at large with four industry leaders. The panel, Richard Eu, chairman at Eu Yan Sang International Ltd; Angelina Foo, governance, risk and compliance professional and adult educator at Keystone Institute; Jeannie Ong, former chief strategic partnership officer at StarHub; and Sandhya Devanathan, country head Singapore at Facebook, demonstrated varied opinions on topics ranging from unconscious bias and women on boards, to facilities and training offered to staff. Focusing on how diversity is a key element of successful leadership, the discussion touched on the role that higher education has to play in achieving gender parity in the workplace.
Is growth in awareness enough to generate meaningful change?
In October 2018, British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Her Excellency Vicki Treadell CMG, MVO, hosted the University of London for another special panel discussion in Kuala Lumpur. Entitled More seats at the table, the panel included three distinguished University of London alumnae: Asha Menon, founder of HR consultancy firm, AM Talent Partners; Beverly Hon, owner of Xcess Communication; and Karen Cheah Lee Lynn, partner at Chooi & Company + Cheang & Ariff. The panel, also chaired by Professor Stiasny, passionately discussed women’s progress across a range of professions. They focused on efforts to attain gender parity and equality, including calls to their fellow alumnae to ‘ask for what you want’ to get ahead professionally. All panellists agreed on the importance of education, and encouraged the University to ensure continuing gender equality in courses, proudly noting that currently half of all students studying for the University of London’s distance and flexible programmes are women. Both debates were lively and showcased the range of views and opinions on diversity initiatives among the panel as well as from alumni and guests, who engaged in the conversation with thought-provoking questions. The debates sparked conversations beyond the sessions with guests staying to discuss themes of gender and race equality in Singapore’s and Malaysia’s professional landscapes.
LEADING WOMEN 1868 – 2018
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