Perspectives

About time to #BreakTheBias

Posted on March 8, 2022

(Note: This content is a 2-min read)

In this competitive world where everyone wants to have a side-hustle and grind culture is glamorised, it is a known fact that leading and starting your own business is anything but child’s play. At least for those who’ve tried. Now imagine pouring your blood, sweat and tears into a business, just to have your efforts discredited with the question:

“[So] when do you plan to settle down?”

This was the situation faced by Malaysian female entrepreneur, Nadia Ismadi, during her business pitch to a potential investor last month. The question asked to the 29-year-old co-founder of local fintech start-up, Pod, was aimed to weigh the possibility of the business’ long-term success should she divert her attention to more household duties – a duty culturally unbothering to male entrepreneurs. Sadly, Nadia’s experience is neither unique nor far in between.

With Malaysian women making up only 39 percent of the nation’s workforce, the under-representation of women at work stands as a constant challenge that perpetuates systemic gender bias – a bias which can be implicitly ingrained in both men and women. The gender bias is more prominent industries such as finance and technology, where women participation still accounts for only 35 percent of in 2021. Sadly, this deep-rooted, culturally embedded issue has crept into fruition in multiple facets of Malaysian life, and can be seen expressed in the long serving deficiency of Malaysian women leading in business, as Board Members in GLCs, even as Members of Parliament. Did you know out of Malaysia’s 2022 Cabinet members, only 14.9 percent are women? A far cry from the global average of 25.6 percent. This needs to change.

To combat such discrepancies, we must continue to tactfully challenge the underlying gender bias in Malaysia and ensure our social and cultural norms work in favour, and not against, the financial and economic growth of this country. In fact, values such as diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) have been championed as accelerators for financial growth since the early 2010s. In 2015, it was cited by McKinsey that gender diversity predicts likelihood of greater financial performance of a company above the national industry median by 15 percent. In 2019, McKinsey also published that a businesses with gender diversity in its executive team is a staggering 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than businesses with less gender diversity – a 4% increase from its 2017 figure, and a 10% increase from its 2014 figure.

With the trend positively looking up year-on-year, it is seriously about time we give credit and appreciation to the contribution of women in the professional realm. The scarcity is not in great female leaders, but instead the lack of opportunities presented to them. No longer can we see quotas for women in leadership as a tedious chore to fill, but it is rather an opportunity to further explore unique POVs and promote thought diversity in the context of business, politics and public policy. Ultimately, having diversity in an organisation indiscriminately adds value to any team; be it diversity in gender, race and even personal socioeconomic upbringing and privilege.

In spite of all cultural hindrances, Malaysia has still managed to rake in several ‘wins’ that #BreakTheBias. The FinTech Association of Malaysia (FAOM) welcomed its first ever female President, Karen S. Puah in 2021, whose recognized abilities has allowed her to become the first woman in ASEAN to hold such a position in fintech. Malaysia’s second female Central Bank Governor, Nor Shamsiah binti Mohd Yunus, has also welcomed two experienced chairwomen to the Board – Chin Suit Fang and Dr. Nirmala Menon a/p Y.B. Menon. Malaysia’s recent appointments of women in leadership positions of these industries sends a deep message that normalises not only participation, but leadership of excellent women in an otherwise male-dominated domains.

Though the Malaysian journey is taking pace in breaking chains of gender inequality in work environments, it is still far from ideal. Overcoming systemic gender bias in Malaysia is still much dependent on policy change, and lobbying to the right parties in the government and regulatory sector. As we await to see more women be involved in tech, STEM and more women leaders in female-led funds, we celebrate the incredible women that have, in the face of all challenges, still manage to find their success. Kudos to YOU and a Happy International Women’s Day to all!