Women in leadership – It’s high time to ‘break the bias’

Women empowerment should be a norm rather than a favourable reception – a notion that should have been fulfiled sooner. “Out with the old, in with the new.”

It is high time for us to bring the women are ‘second fiddle’ school of thought to a halt. With the different styles that each woman carries, it ought to be leveraged by embracing women’s leadership at any level of organisation.

Zooming into the academic perspective, for instance, the Dean of Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Information Technology (UniKL MIIT), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zalizah Awang Long while citing a report mentioned that the number of universities in the world that are led by women is increasing.

This promising progress indicates the world recognises women’s significant contributions and rallies towards inclusivity, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zalizah, when invited as one of the panellists at ‘Women as Leaders in Organizations: Inspirations, Challenges, and Striking Work Life Balance’ webinar.

“Women portray different styles when it comes to leadership, and even women academicians have also demonstrated their capabilities in university administrative positions.

“When you are given a test, it is whether it tests you out, or you will look at it as a challenge. When you look at it as a problem, then it is a problem.

“But if you look at it otherwise, it is an opportunity. Think about how to make it (opportunity) happen rather than how to solve it (problem). This means that opportunities are always there for women to climb the ladder,” told her.

The ‘Women as Leaders in Organizations: Inspirations, Challenges and Striking Work Life Balance’ webinar is a commitment shown by UniKL through Centre For Women Advancement and Leadership (CWAL) towards supporting women empowerment, which was held in conjunction with the International Women’s Day.

The webinar also features the Executive Director of Destini Berhad, Norzilah Mohammed and Chief Executive Officer of MMC Oil & Gas Engineering Sdn Bhd, Ts. Sharifah Zaida Nurlisha Syed Ibrahim as the panellist, and moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kelly Yong.

This year, International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8 March 2022 with the theme of ‘Break The Bias’. It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality.