Wong (centre) with Lian (fifth from right) and Shum (fifth from left) holding up the updated Silicon Malaysia map and Silicon Stars – Pearl of the Orient map after the power talk at Setia SPICE Convention Centre in Penang. On far right is Chan.
THERE is still room for improvement in terms of women pursuing successful careers in the technology sector today, especially in leadership positions.
IBM Malaysia managing director Catherine Lian said this realisation was encouraging, especially among multinational corporations (MNCs).
She said there was better awareness from MNCs these days to have women leaders in their organisations.
“Many women tend to be more reserved and feel they are not as good as their male counterparts.
“Most of them have hidden ideas, but good leaders in their organisations can help open up opportunities for these women,” Lian said in her talk during the Semicon SEA’s 28th edition this year at Setia SPICE Convention Centre in Penang.
Work-life balance for Asian women sees them taking on the role of mother, sister, wife, daughter and this is their biggest challenge, she said.
“When women hit their 40s, their tendency to be challenged slides downhill.
“This is when family network and support are critical to us,” she added.
Lian also noted that the IT landscape in the late 1990s was very different with the ratio of female to male around 1:10 or 2:10.
“At the time, there were questions as to whether women can even handle this industry with its ever-changing trends,” she said.
She related how she had a couple of fears when she had to go on her maternity leave during her early days in the industry.
“I had 10 male peers working with me and I was so fearful for my position in the company that I returned to work one week after my maternity leave started.
“It was only later that I realised that it was not the company, but my own inferiority complex, which gave me fears about my position in the company.
“What I learned was that I had to build my confidence level so that I don’t always feel threatened about my position in the company,” she added.
Lian said women had reservations about speaking up at their workplace.
“In my early days, I missed out on many opportunities because I was worried about speaking my mind among my male peers.
“To overcome this, I started branding myself by reskilling and learning technology-related matters because technology is very robust and I wanted to upskill myself so that I would have the knowledge and power to speak up.”
She said that over the years, industry leaders and the government’s mindset about women being in the tech industry, especially those holding higher positions, had changed.
“The ratio today has improved to 4:10 with more organisations and corporations acknowledging the role played by women in their respective workplace and the fact that they are able to contribute.
“Today, women have more opportunity than before to climb up the ladder and take their place as tech leaders and innovators,” she added.
Lian was recognised as one of the top five most influential women in tech in Asia by Tech Wire Asia website.
She spoke at the “Meet The Expert@TECHstage” power talk organised by Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA), which included speakers from Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), Malaysia Productivity Corporation, Solarvest and Dell Technologies.
The three-day Semicon SEA 2023 was opened by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
The theme for the event was “Boosting Agility and Resiliency of the Electronics Supply Chain in South-East Asia”.
The event was aimed at building connections and foster collaborations for a sustainable South-East Asia electronics manufacturing industry.
Executive leaders from top global companies shared insights and strategies on boosting agility and resiliency of the electronics supply chain in the region.
It was the largest electronics manufacturing supply chain event in South-East Asia.
A total of 289 companies, including 111 from Malaysia, took part in an exhibition held during the event.
The other companies were from 17 countries including China, Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, United States of America and Vietnam.
There were 573 booths set up with some 10,000 people attending the event.
Another speaker at the Power Talk was LJ Shum, former regional vice-president at Plexus and who has 34 years in the electronics and manufacturing industry.
She said it was important for leaders to identify changemakers in their organisations.
“Do not be afraid of people working for you who are smarter than you.
“Identify them as the changemakers in your organisation.
“These are the people who will challenge us to bring out the best.
“A ‘yes-man’ cannot be a changemaker. They will only remain as followers and this will not be a healthy culture in any organisation,” she added.
MSIA president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai, who was also present at the event, said there should be a push for more diversity and representation for women in Malaysia’s tech industry.
He said the mindset in the engineering sector in the past was 60% male but today, it was 60% female.
“But sadly, few women are in leadership positions in engineering.
“One of the biggest problems is that they have too many things to handle.
“So, the transition point here is for them to get the proper support, otherwise we may lose capable women leaders in the industry.
“For this, we need a solution and Covid-19 has given us part of the answer, where women have proven that they can contribute by working from home as well and they do not have to give up their career when they have to go on maternity leave.
“Corporations need to start changing the way they look at things and give assurance to female employees that they won’t lose their job when they go on maternity leave,” he added.
Also present was MSIA director Andrew Chan.
MSIA organised the Malaysia Pavilion at Semicon SEA this year, with 40 booths by its members showcasing their products and services to the electronics and electrical industry.
The highlight for MSIA was the launch of the updated Silicon Malaysia map and Silicon Stars – Pearl of the Orient map to include new MSIA members.
MSIA now has 225 members in 10 states in Malaysia.
