KUALA LUMPUR: Retaining women in the workforce is not just a goal, but an achievable reality.
Gamuda Berhad Group chief environmental, social and governance (ESG) officer Ong Jee Lian said that despite the company’s engineering-heavy reputation in a male-centric environment, it has successfully implemented strategies to retain female talent.
“At the board level today, we have always hit above 40%. In fact, today it is 54% of women,” she said during a panel discussion on Empowering Diversity in Industry: Bridging the Gender Gap at the ESG Summit yesterday.
The panel discussion was moderated by Mnair PR Consultancy client services associate director Justin Ooi Theng Yik.
In a sector often referred to as 3D - demeaning, dangerous and dirty - Ong said she was often asked how the company retained women in the workforce.
She said a key component of Gamuda’s success lies in its scholarship programme, where half of it is prioritised for female applicants.
However, Ong also recognised a common challenge across industries – the drop in female participation as women reach their 30s and mid-career levels, often due to marriage or child-rearing.
To address this, she said Gamuda has introduced support measures such as an on-site daycare centre.
“When you come to Menara Gamuda, it’s very common to see grandfathers and fathers with small children going to the daycare,” said Ong, noting that this initiative has benefited not just female employees but male workers as well.
She also pointed out that Gamuda’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives extend beyond gender.
The company also focuses on broader inclusion through its Enabling Academy, which trains adults on the autism spectrum to integrate into the workforce effectively.
UEM Edgenta’s head of ESG, Sharifah Bakar Ali, noted that while the government has aimed for women to make up 30% of company boards since the 1980s, progress has been slow.
As of June 2023, only 21% of companies met this target, but Sharifah is optimistic, saying that the numbers have risen above 30% by Oct 2024, driven in part by institutions like Khazanah Nasional.
At UEM Edgenta, she said women hold three out of 10 board positions, with women also leading key committees.
“Diversity is very good to bring the different voices together and have the governance factor,” she said.
Despite challenges, Sharifah believes that diversity initiatives are beginning to take substantial hold.
She also shared a structured approach to integrating DEI within her organisation.
Emphasising the necessity of a top-down, bottom-up strategy to ensure DEI’s successful implementation, Sharifah said it was important to set a corporate DEI roadmap, integrating human rights considerations and empowering champions within the organisation.
Adding to the discussion, Kenanga Investment Bank sustainability vice-president Bavithira Chelvakumar emphasised the importance of psychosocial support in DEI initiatives.
Bavithira also called on organisations to ensure that all voices are genuinely heard, not merely counted.
“Initiatives supporting women also indirectly benefit men and families, fostering a balanced community,” she said.
Bavithira shared Kenanga’s partnership with Dialogue Includes All, a social enterprise involving people with disabilities.
“We have invited them to deliver an empathy workshop with our relationship managers to help us understand our communities and clients better,” she said.
Saravanan Desigamanie, group sustainability head at KPJ Healthcare Bhd, discussed the importance of merit in female empowerment, particularly in healthcare where patient care is critical.
He stressed the need for robust data integrity in measuring the impact of DEI initiatives, warning against relying on faulty data that could undermine their effectiveness.
Saravanan also advocated aligning DEI and ESG key performance indicators with remuneration across all corporate levels to ensure accountability and incentivise meaningful progress.
“There’s no point talking about voluntary compliance just for companies to tick the checkbox,” he said, adding that such alignment ensures that everyone, from the board to the workforce, understands the impact of their initiatives.
The ESG Summit was organised by Star Media Group Berhad, with Sime Darby Property Bhd as the Urban Biodiversity Partner.
Saxon Renewables and Zurich Malaysia were silver sponsors.
