Asian Women Shy Away From Limelight

  

The advancement of women is a strategic talent priority not only for many companies, government and nations across the world.

Our IBM Chairman and CEO, Ginni Rometty, shared at The Clinton Global Initiative's forum on Re- imagining Impact: "I would define diversity differently now…It is really about Engagement…Engagement means giving people the freedom to contribute in any way they are comfortable, and when we do that, we unlock entire segments of the population".

At IBM, we have a Diversity Leader in our human resource department.  For the International Women’s Day or Week, the team led a first ever social discussion on Diversity, an online community chat to encourage employees to contribute their thoughts, best practice stories, innovative ideas and recommendations on two topics: “You are What You Share” and “Create an Irresistible Work Experience”. Our Singapore Managing Director Janet Ang also hosted a panel of distinguished women to share with us their journey in going digital for work and for personal life.

 

“You are what you share” is about leveraging the power of social to build digital eminence and through this, a personal brand.  Research suggests that women in general, have been less inclined to do personal branding, which impacts visibility and networking internally and externally.

Technology - Old Boy’s Club. Unicorns - New Boy’s Club.

As interviewed by USA Today, studies show that while women make up 42% workforce, tech industry has only 24% women representation. Tech is another old boys' club. Elizabeth Caudle, East Coast regional director for Girls Who Code leads an educational group seeking to expose 1 million young women to computer science education by 2020. 

IBM’s Sandy Carter says that women are natural techies in that social networking can be a strength in the workplace. A study by Catalyst showed that companies that are more diverse – with more women and minorities – deliver about 1 35% higher return on equity and a 34% return to shareholders.

A Fortune analysis showed that the Fortune 500 is led mostly by men. Only 25 Fortune 500 companies have a woman as CEO.

A new analysis by Fortune also uncovered that 60% of the US unicorn companies have all-male boards compared to 5% of Fortune 500 companies.  These include the most celebrated brands like Uber, Snapchat, Tinder and Airbnb. 

Asian Women Are More Reserved Than Men...

Most women posted that they are more reserved and unable to get the same visibility as their male counterparts. This was especially more pronounced among Asian women.  One woman manager said, “I am an Asian woman, and the culture here generally is that we are always not the ones to put up our hands first when questions/comments are sought. We tend to only answer if we are called upon, even though we may have rich views to share. So with the (social) platform, we can encourage each other, we can build more self-confidence hearing from our fellow woman friends how they over-come such challenges.”

Another women professional said “ Asian woman are often associated to being reserve, less vocal about their opinion and even shy away from recognition; take for instance when a recognition is given to woman publicly in a team setting you would often hear, ah... it's the team's effort where if it's a recognition given to our male colleague you could see him standing tall and taking the credits. We should encourage our fellow women colleagues to take the stage and accept the compliment. Just say thank you very much for the recognition and shine in your achievements and also comment about what the team has done.”

I shared on-line as well as at the Singapore event that “I too am an Asian woman and a Manager in a mainly male-dominated division in IBM Systems Hardware team.  We tend to be "humble" and "not speak until spoken to".  Last year, when I was involved in community work in different countries, I found that a lot of social enterprises from CEOs to politicians in ministries to the youths were really listening and learning enthusiastically to what I had to share from my personal experience from studies, professional career development to my values in life.  In many countries, woman who have not spoken up, do make an impact when they speak up!  

Building A Social Profile In Two Months!

I also shared that I was inspired to start building my social profile last year on Blogspot (http://annephey.blogspot.sg/),  to share about my community work and with the youths.  After half a year in September, I decided to get active professional social profile on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/annephey).  In just 2 months in November, LinkedIn awarded me as the #2 Social Seller out of their Top 100!  So, ladies share your valuable experience as you may never know when it can encourage someone or advice for their development.  When we speak, people listen. When we put our mind to it, we are unstoppable! 

 

 

Get Inspired By Women in Leadership!

IBM Women in Technology has  a great sharing of insights during this Celebration of International Women's Day on youtube: IBM Women In Technology

I note that we are missing the Asian women in this video.  However, judging from the impressive panel and audience that we had at the IBM International Women's Day event, we had many women leaders from finance, human resource, consulting, banking and manufacturing in Singapore who inspire us.

Women should build a network with mentors and peers to grow and take control of our career.  We can do better than our counterparts in the west.

Abridged version on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/asian-women-shy-from-limelight-anne-phey-innovator

Gratitude For Our Singapore

This morning, the founding father of modern day Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew died at age 91 at 3.18 am on March 23rd, 2015.  The tearful announcement of the passing of his father was made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, announced in Malay, Chinese and English language over Channel News Asia.

LKY is truly a great leader who has the foresight and leadership which transformed Singapore from a racially & culturally diverse island into a thriving developed nation. Singapore is not just a notable achiever in the international markets for its stable infrastructure, continued economic development, well known efficiency and transparency, strategic focus in foreign direct investments but also a safe, harmonious and green country to live in. 

He believed and made the dream of Singapore come true. May his soul rest in peace.  It is my hope that the legacy of sacrificial, visionary leadership and respect to race, religion and culture continues in the next generation of leaders.

The Best Quote

My favourite quote of all is from the man Mr Lee Kuan Yew himself, “I have no regrets.  I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There’s nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore.  What have I given up? My Life”.

Tributes from world leaders:

President Barack Obama called him “A visionary who led his country from Singapore’s independence in 1965 to build one of the most prosperous countries in the world today, he was a devoted public servant and a remarkable leader. Minister Mentor Lee’s views and insights on Asian dynamics and economic management were respected by many around the world, and no small number of this and past generations of world leaders have sought his advice on governance and development.  …He was a true giant of history who will be remembered for generations to come as the father of modern Singapore and as one of the great strategists of Asian affairs.”

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi called him “A far-sighted statesman & a lion among leaders, mr Le Kuan Yew’s life teaches valuable lessons to everyone.”

China’s President Xi Jinping praised him as “an old friend of the Chinese people”, “widely respected by the international community as a strategist and a statesman, the founder, pioneer and promoter of China-Singapore relations.”

Tributes from commercial leaders

Janet Ang (Managing Director, IBM Singapore Pte Ltd) wrote, “Yesterday, as I was thinking and praying for Mr Lee Kuan Yew, I reflected on Henri Nouwen's words on "dying well". Quote by Henri Nouwen on "Dying Well" : "We will all die one day. That is one of the few things we can be sure of. But will we die well? That is less certain. Dying well means dying for others, making our lives fruitful for those we leave behind. The big question, therefore is not "What can I still do in the years I have left to live?" but "How can I prepare myself for my death so that my life can continue to bear fruit in the generations that will follow."

Mr Lee Kuan Yew has lived a fruitful life and has changed the destiny of millions of Singaporeans and made the lives of all of us, whom he has left behind, for the better. Thank you Mr Lee Kuan Yew. We celebrate your life for all that you have done in bringing Singapore from colonial rule to independence, from a fishing port to an intelligent, connected first world economy, from a small little red dot to a Singapore that (in the words of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of UK)  "has a respect and admiration far above its size." . We salute you Mr Lee Kuan Yew, for all your lifetime achievements which few can claim and for serving and loving Singapore, right to your very end.”

Piyush Gupta (CEO, DBS Group) wrote, “How does one even begin to pay tribute to a man as large as him? He was truly a giant of a man, deservedly a legend. If a nation can have a father, then he was Singapore’s. He led us on the path to becoming our own nation, he showed us the way to becoming a viable country, he transformed us into a city of the world. A small tropical island, a little red dot, that nevertheless found a place on the global stage…such has been his legacy.”

He also said, “Long years ago, when Gandhi died, Nehru eulogized him thus: “A light has gone out of our lives…For the light that shown on this country was no ordinary light”…Lee Kuan Yew was no ordinary light. He was a flame.”…”Together, we must be the guardians of his vision. Together, we must carry the flag.”

My Thoughts

My thoughts can be summed up in a quote from “Positive Outlooks”: At the end of life, what really matters is not what we bought but what we built; not what we got but what we shared; not competence but our character; and not our success but our significance. Live a life that matters. Live a life of love.

Thank you for giving your life to Singapore, taking it from independence to development, creating opportunities and growth for our small nation which we are proud of calling our Singapore.  There is no other man that can be like him.