5 JUNE 2012 (TUESDAY)
JOHOR, MALAYSIA
Since the announcement by our Honourable Prime Minister in June 2011 on the policy of setting a target that women must comprise at least 30% of those in decision-making positions in the corporate sector by 2016, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development through its agency NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW) has formulated a comprehensive Women Directors Programme which include among others, the Women Directors’ Onboarding Training Programme and a Women Director’s Registry.
The Registry will serve several purposes. Besides capturing pertinent information of the skills and experience of professional women, it will also track the placement of board-ready candidates. Companies can also source for suitably qualified candidates for their boards through the Registry.
A pilot group comprising of 25 selected women participants has undergone the Women Director’s Onboarding Training Programme this year, which is designed to prepare potential and qualified women to fully understand their roles as board directors. They are equipped with critical skills to perform their roles effectively through the structured curriculum. This batch of potential women directors will go through a board simulation exercise that will familiarize them with the real-life challenges of serving on boards. Beside this pilot batch, the Ministry this year plans to have another 9 batches of 25 participants each. Under this Programme, The Ministry is targeting to prepare 250 women in 2012 for immediate placement on board positions.
We don’t want the list to be dominated only by a particular state or city, but should represent the potential from every part of the country. Hence, this road shows with Sarawak being the first state and Johor as the second state. The state of Johor is chosen for its proven track record of the significant number of women from Johor in the Malaysian corporate world. For this purpose, NIEW has sought the assistance of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) to co-organised this event. IRDA is chosen for its wide network among the corporate players in Johor.
We would like to express our gratitude to Yang Berhormat Dr. Robia Dato’ Kosai, State of Johor Executive Committee Member for her presence despite her hectic schedule. Her presence truly lends more importance and significance to the event. It shows the seriousness and the commitment of the government, be it the Federal or the State Government to continuously take every action to empower women.
Special thanks should also go to several top corporate leaders who participated as panelists in a forum which was held in conjunction of this road show. They are Datin Paduka Siti Saadiah Sheikh Bakir, CEO of KPJ Healthcare, Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, CEO of Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Ms. Anne Abraham, CEO of Lead Women and Puan Sri Datin Sri Dr. Susan Cheah, EXCO Member of Sunway Group.
It is our fervent hope that the initiative will improve the current percentage of women in decision making positions and to have more women in the boardroom.
NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women
June 2012
Last Updated on Thursday, 14 June 2012 09:24
