If companies that financially perform best have the greatest numbers of women in leadership positions, why do women continue to lag behind in assuming leadership and board roles? Projections show that at the current rate of advancement, women and men won’t be equally represented in leadership until 2085. The harsh reality is that the talent pipeline is leaking at all levels, and women just aren’t stepping into enough key roles that would allow them and their companies to realize their full potential.
Nonetheless, on a positive note, the Government’s seriousness for 30% women in boardrooms has stakeholders optimistic that the numbers will move upwards, as Malaysia is stepping forward with bold initiatives to push the agenda forward seeing that it is “the right and bright thing” to do. Under the 11th Malaysia Plan, the Government also continues to set targets to boost female participation in the workforce to 55 per cent by 2020. As of Q3 2017, the country’s figures for women on boards of Top 100 PLCs stand at 19.1%. Regardless, there is still much to be improved. According to KPWKM Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim, one indicator that gender equality has not yet been achieved in the corporate sector is the fact that women are under-represented at the decision-making levels. Why is that and what can we do, as a collective group, to help women leaders advance more quickly in the workplace?
Women in Leadership Conference 2018 offers opportunity for professional women in all disciplines, locally and internationally, to develop intellectual and broadminded community. This event will bring together top female executives from the business, government and NGO sectors to discuss important issues and explore ways to support and improve women‘s participation in business and society through presentation papers and case studies. The overall goal is to highlight best practices and initiatives to accelerate change in advancing women and inclusion agenda in Malaysia. This is followed by inspiring sharing sessions and success stories by invited guest speakers in a warm and open-sharing environment.
""• Listen to successful women share their experiences on the obstacles they had to overcome and how they did that.
• Understand the critical factors needed to create a culture to promote gender diversity and harness the potential of women managers.
• Appreciate the importance of women talent in senior leadership roles and how that improves the overall quality of decision making.
• Gain valuable insights on how to build and nurture a diverse workforce and prepare women employees for their leadership roles of tomorrow.
• Learn about the contributions being made by women in different areas including politics, public service, media, science, technology etc.
• Network with successful professionals who are eager to create a diverse work force and empower tomorrow’s leaders in a more inclusive manner.
Women in Leadership Conference 2018’s main focus is to provide leading-edge personal and professional development for mid-level and senior women, by focusing on the essential stages of the leadership journey and other substantial issues concerning women empowerment, as listed below:
• Women leaders position in Malaysia
• The importance of resilience and networking for inspiring women leaders
• Work-life integration for both men and women
• What it takes for women to win the CEO seat
• Effective communication as the most fundamental aspect of effective leadership
• A celebration for women in the high tech sector
• Empowering women through mentorship
• Gender diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace – The link to business success
• Women’s growing need for representation in leadership
This conference is especially designed for all current women leaders, aspiring women leaders and future women leaders, as well as the following:
• Directors, Executives and Managers across all industries
• Human Resources and Workforce Planning
• Diversity and Inclusion Managers
• Women’s Leadership Program Managers
• Established, emerging and aspiring women leaders
• Male leaders looking to implement change on an organization level
From various corporate companies, private and government sectors, education institutions as well as any other establishments.