International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on March 8th to celebrate achievements of women all around and to spread the message of gender equality and female empowerment across. In conjunction with the upcoming IWD, we have had the honor to speak to 6 women who literally Kickass and Slay at what they do.
Conquering The World One Heel at a Time #ChooseToChallenge
YAM Tengku Zatashah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah
Board Director InNature Berhad | Founder /Advocate #sayno2plastic and #zerofoodwastage
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
International Women’s Day to me is a day to celebrate women’s achievements and successes, which often have come faced with adversity, challenges and obstacles and yet despite all that we rise above. It is about raising awareness on women empowerment and the fact that we still have a long way to go in the fight for equality and protection on women who are vulnerable.
How can negative stereotypes be reduced or the most effective ways to counteract?
I often give talks to women at forums on women empowerment and one of the things I advise corporate women is to not simply assume if we work hard, stick our heads down that our bosses will notice and reward us. No. We need to be more like the men. We need to network. And we need to be visible and share the performance and results we have achieved. We need to state clearly what our vision is for our career paths. That’s what men do. And the moment we start embracing our strengths, our femininity and yet be able to manage the male dominated corporate world, is when we can surely rise up the ranks.
Share one quote to inspire women to succeed like you.
Oprah said “You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more.” this I believe very much, to not shrink and become less because you are a woman, but embrace it and blossom into one. Dream big, and work hard for it. Don’t let opportunities go to waste.
Rebekah Yeoh
Director, Corporate Finance of YTL Corporation Berhad
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
It is not a special holiday as women should be revered and celebrated everyday, but simply a reminder that women are to be remembered for being capable of carrying out both the same yet different roles to men, and that we are able to complement men through our actions and specific traits.
Can you tell us negative stereotypes about women you wish to highlight or have faced?
I think depending on geography and cultural society, women are often spoken down to or immediately recognized as not having a valid opinion, especially for those with junior roles at large corporations. The stereotype is a vicious cycle as it forces women into dark corners, further inducing them to keep quiet during open discussions out of mere anxiety and fear of speaking out.
What do you believe will be the biggest challenge for young women who wish to pursue the same career path?
A woman’s role should be complementary to a man’s, just as a man’s role should be complementary to a woman’s - just as God intended. I believe God made men and women different for a reason, and both sexes should seek greater synergies in a peaceful manner. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging what women can do but men cannot, and what men can do but women cannot. Two negatives make a positive, two positives also make a positive.
Farah Ann Abdul Hadi
National Elite Artistic Gymnast
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
International Women’s Day means a lot to me because I think with everything that women have faced, it is important for us to continue to strive to make equality something that is permanent and that every woman experiences.
What do you believe will be the biggest challenge for young women who wish to pursue the same career path?
I think one of the biggest challenges for young women to pursue the same career path as myself, especially in sports, is that to understand that you have to work very hard for it. I am very lucky that in sports you are judged based on your performance but obviously there will be times where people will judge you based on your gender or there will be certain stereotypes especially by the media that overlooks your performance and only looks at how you look like or what you are wearing. You have to be strong and able to try to change these narratives and make sure that you continue to strive to do your very best, train your very best and to perform your best.
Share one quote to inspire women to succeed like you.
For International Women’s Day, I hope that every woman out there always believes in themselves, believe in their capabilities, and always strives to do what they want to do in their lives and continue to break boundaries that they set for themselves and that others has set upon them
Anabelle Co-Martinent
Director at La Juiceria Superfoods, Super Saigon, Hawker Hall
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
International Women’s Day to me is a time that we can celebrate, pause and just really appreciate all the women in the world. Whatever is their career, or whatever industry or even as a mother or as a homemaker, as a wife, as a daughter, it’s really a time for us to appreciate these group of people, who day in day out who make a lot of sacrifices, decisions. We are complex, we are caring, we are devoted, we are emotional – and that’s okay because we are really just built differently and we have to celebrate that.
What do you believe will be the biggest challenge for young women who wish to pursue the same career path?
For the young women of today, I believe that there will be challenges, however you have to put yourself in a position of abundance, which means that whatever your career, whatever your starting point, whatever it is, your family background, don’t let it hold you back. Don’t allow it to make that your big challenge because we have all come. The women today who are with me, the women who are before me we all had our challenges from backgrounds, to finance, to climbing up the ladder and we didn’t let that stop us and today the women, the young women, you have all the opportunities of the world.Whatever the stereotypes, whatever the challenges we had, it will continue to exist in any industry, in corporate, in any field. Don’t let that stop you. All you have to do is look up and see all the women who have made it and make that your inspiration.
Share one quote to inspire women to succeed like you.
“I will because I can”. So in many things that you want to do, you dream to do, you hope to do – go and do it. I tell myself I will do it because I can, because I have the opportunity, because I am capable, because I am able to. So when we realized how fortunate we are to have the strength, the opportunity, the moment, you will end up doing it, just like in any decisions that we make, just like in anything that we want to do. It’s a very short quote but it’s something that I always think off and I hope all the women will also think the same way that you will do it because I can.
Lim Shiew Li
Co-Founder, Inside Scoop
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
To me, it’s a day to reflect, celebrate and be grateful for how far women have come. There is much more to strive for but I am grateful that the environment I was brought up in had equal opportunities for both genders.
How can negative stereotypes be reduced or the most effective ways to counteract?
By proving otherwise. The most effective way to counteract this is to work on yourself and choose to challenge yourself to be the best possible version so that almost no fault can be found so to prove these stereotypes wrong.
On International Women’s Day, share one quote to inspire women to succeed.
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
Helen Tan
Co-founder and owner of Doublewoot
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
International Women's Day is really important to me because it means the time where we reflect upon the progress which we have made and how far we have come in equality for all gender. It should not be celebrated in just a month but everyday throughout the year.
What do you believe will be the biggest challenge for young women who wish to pursue the same career path?
To me, the biggest challenge would be perseverance at times of failure and having the will to carry on when no one is having our back. It would also mean to maintain the consistency in giving our very best all the time and doing the small things in our very best effort .
On International Women’s Day, share one quote to inspire women to succeed.
We are all phenomenal women and we are unique in our own ways , so don't be afraid to be you as that's your super power!
Celebrate your achievements, be empowered and dare to be different. Just remember to #ChooseToChallenge.
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