Apr 20, 2012 ... YB Datuk Hajah Fatimah Abdullah, Minister of Welfare, Women, Family.
Development of Sarawak said during her officiating speech.
MEDIA RELEASE
SARAWAK HOST FIRST ROADSHOW ON WOMEN DIRECTORS PROGRAMME KUCHING, SARAWAK, 20 APRIL 2012 – Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Malaysia is proud to have the Ministry of Welfare, Women and Family Development of Sarawak to host its very first Roadshow on Women Directors’ Programme today. It shows the seriousness and the commitment of the government, be it the Federal or the State Government to continuously making the efforts to empower women. “The government of Sarawak is committed to play an active role in empowering women, as we believe that achieving the targets set by this policy is critical. The outcome is stronger performing Malaysian companies that will have a direct positive impact on our economy, not only for Sarawak but Malaysia as a whole.” YB Datuk Hajah Fatimah Abdullah, Minister of Welfare, Women, Family Development of Sarawak said during her officiating speech. In response to the recent government mandate, stipulating that women must comprise at least 30 percent of board positions and senior roles of public-listed companies by 2016, The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development through its agency, NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW) is now actively driving the Women Corporate Directors’ Initiative forward. The new initiative is designed to prepare potential and qualified women to fully understand their roles as board directors. NIEW is holding a series of road shows in major cities across the country, with Sarawak being the first. The purpose of this advocacy programme is to create an opportunity to network with the industry leaders and communicate the business value of the Women Directors Programme and the Women Directors Registry. The road show is to engage senior business and thought leaders in a discussion on why gender diversity in the boardroom is critical for businesses.
To be considered for the Director’s Programme, aspirant and qualified women must first register with the 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. “We want the corporate companies to support this initiative by identifying and enrolling their high potential women for this training and development programme. We are targeting to prepare around 250 women in 2012 for placement on board positions. We don’t want the list to be dominated by Kuala Lumpur based candidates only, but also from other cities in the countries. Hence, these road shows with Sarawak being the first state are being held. Sarawak is chosen for its diversity and multi ethnicity which will further enrich the diversity of the corporate world.” said Tan Sri Rafiah Salim, Director of NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW). The road shows also sees the participations of top Corporate Leaders namely Puan Sri Dr. Susan Cheah (Exco Member of Sunway Group), Dato’ Abdul Aziz Abu Bakar (Chief Executive Officer, Malaysian Directors Academy), Anne Abraham (Chief Executive Officer, Lead Women) and Tan Sri Datuk (Dr.) Rafiah Salim as moderator. The panel deliberated on the topic “Diversity on Board: Makes Business Sense. Nearly 100 guests comprising of top women leaders from both the government and corporate sectors in Sarawak attended this programme. ###
Prepared by
:
NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women Tingkat 16, Wisma Sime Darby, Jalan Raja Laut 50530 Kuala Lumpur
Telephone. No.
:
019-3270072 (Wan)
Release Date
:
20 April 2012
