TalentCorp Launches #BreakTheBias Women Empowerment Month 2022 (WEM 2022)

TalentCorp signs MoU with 5 strategic industry partners to cement collaboration on women advocacy. From Left to Right: Dr. Sean O. Ferguson, Senior Associate Dean, Asia School of Business; Abir Abdul Rahman, Co-founder, and Director of LeanIn Malaysia; Izzana Salleh, Board of Director, TalentCorp; Thomas Mathew, Group Chief Executive Officer, TalentCorp; Ainul Radziah binti Zamhuri, Deputy Undersecretary, Policy Division Ministry of Human Resources; Founder and Chief Executive Officer, LTT Global Communications; Soori Bapoo A/L Kuandiah @ Soorin, Board of Director, TalentCorp; Elizabete Kalnozola, Managing Director, Girls in Tech Kuala Lumpur; Fazilah Yusof, Founder & Chief Vision Officer, Invictus Leadership Consulting.

KUALA LUMPUR, 8 March 2022: Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp), the national agency under the Ministry of Human Resources mandated to drive Malaysia’s talent strategy, today launched the Women Empowerment Month (WEM) 2022 in conjunction with International Women’s Day. From 8 to 31 March 2022, WEM 2022 will feature a line-up of webinars and programmes to raise awareness of gender equality. The programmes are curated for women from various backgrounds, from the underprivileged to young and emerging talent, professionals, and women in leadership positions.

This is in line with Malaysia’s Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 and the Twelfth Malaysian Plan to reach 59% female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) by 2025, and continues TalentCorp’s advocacy for women in the workforce.

The launch event kicked off with TalentCorp signing five Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asia School of Business, Tulips Movement Malaysia, LTT Global Communications, Lean In Malaysia and Girls in Tech Kuala Lumpur. The collaboration with these key strategic partners will amplify efforts to ensure women from different walks of life can thrive in an equal playing field without biases in the workplace and workforce.

The signing ceremony was followed by a forum titled “Women Thriving in a Workforce where Unconscious Bias is a Norm” featuring prominent advocates. They included YB Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Mohd Radzi who is the Chairman of BERNAMA, Ahmad Faedzal the CEO of National Sports Institute of Malaysia as well as Izzana Salleh, TalentCorp’s Board Member who is also the co-founder, President and CEO of Girls For Girls International.

YB Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Minister of Human Resources, says that the Government has pledged to develop women’s economic potential and increase their representation in the labour market towards building a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive society.
 

Panellists at the TalentCorp Women Empowerment Month #BreakTheBias Forum. From Left to Right: YB Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Razi, Chairman of BERNAMA; Lim Chee Gay, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, TDCX; Izzana Salleh, Board of Director, TalentCorp; Ahmad Faedzal, Chief Executive Officer, National Sports Institute; Fazilah Yusof, Founder & Chief Vision Officer, Invictus Leadership Consulting.

“With the Women Empowerment Month, TalentCorp is committed to empower and nurture women in Malaysia’s workforce and bring greater attention to the structural barriers that women continue to face in entering and advancing in the labour market,” he said.

In line with the theme #BreakTheBias for International Women’s Day this year, TalentCorp invited women advocates and industry experts focusing on different segments of women talent, from graduates to professionals including the Malaysian diaspora. Topics in focus include workplace harassment, addressing stigma attached to being single parents, and mental health wellness.

Thomas Mathew, Group Chief Executive Officer of TalentCorp says, “Guided by the Ministry of Human Resources, TalentCorp advocates for a more equitable future of work for all Malaysians and the WEM 2022 is a testament of our passion for this cause.

“In the past year, TalentCorp has revitalised its Career Comeback Programme to encompass beyond women returning to work. Now, TalentCorp not only facilitates women to job opportunities, but we also reach out to young female talents through our YES! Rock the School and YES! Wo+men programmes to share about gender quality and how our young girls can find their own voices.”

“We also established the Women Agenda Council of Experts (WACE) where experts come together to work on initiatives to support the Malaysian women workforce,” he said.

The month-long activities for WEM 2022 will feature speakers such as Dato’ Suriani Dato’ Ahmad, Secretary General of Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC); Dato’ Thavalingam C. Thavarajah, Managing Director of T.Thavalingam & Co.; Dr. Khairul Ayuni, Lecturer of Accounting, Loughborough University, UK; Amy Chua, President-Asia Schlumberger; and Sabrina Aripen, President & Founder of Society for Equality, Respect And Trust for All (SERATA).

Highlights of WEM 2022 include:

• Career Comeback Programme Webinar: Enhancing Your Personal Branding
• Webinar: Workplace Harassment - Finding the Courage to Speak Up
• Webinar: Empowering Single Parents - Finding Your Strength
• Webinar: Women in Leadership
• Webinar: Are you MAN enough to work with an empowered woman?
• Conference: Diaspora Realities: Braving Challenges as a Malaysian in a Foreign Land
• Programme: Women-Industry Network (WIN) Mentoring Programme

The WEM 2022 is free for the public to join. To participate, visit www.talentcorp.my/womenempowermentmonth


Issued by Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad
8 March 2022