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*Translations are unofficial and provided by Google translate
UN Women 2024 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards:
Meet the National Winners
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MALAYSIA
We are excited to announce the winners of the UN Women 2024 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards!
Big congratulations to all the winners who have committed themselves to advancing gender equality and women's economic empowerment. These gender champions from different countries, sectors, and fields are acknowledged respectively for their outstanding Leadership Commitment, Youth Leadership, Gender-inclusive Workplace, Gender-responsive Marketplace, Community Engagement & Partnerships, and Transparency & Reporting
*The UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards represents recognition of exemplary company efforts for gender equality and is limited to a designated category and a specific location and time period. Awarded organizations, alongside their products and services, receiving awards are not endorsed or affiliated with UN Women or WeEmpowerAsia and being recognized as an Awardee does not constitute a partnership. Claims, statements, or endorsements made by awardees are solely those of the individual or organization and do not represent official policies or positions of UN Women.
Winners
PwC Malaysia
PwC’s purpose is to build trust and solve important problems. It also shapes their people’s approach - to create meaningful experiences through diversity and inclusion, wellbeing, development, and total rewards. PwC's ‘Inclusion First’ approach combines systems and behaviors through leadership commitment, accountability, and transparency, and embedding I&D in PWC systems. By setting diversity targets as part of their leadership KPIs and inclusive programs like the career comeback initiative, PwC in Malaysia has built a strong pipeline of female leaders with 43% of their partners being female in 2024. PwC also actively looks beyond just gender by raising awareness on PWDs and incorporating support for PWD employees in their workforce.
Sarawak Energy Berhad
Sarawak Energy’s Handicraft Development Programme, launched in 2016 in partnership with UNIMAS, supports sustainable livelihood and cultural identity for vulnerable indigenous Penan women in Murum by preserving traditional rattan weaving skills through the production of commercially viable crafts. The target artisan group benefits from enhanced market visibility, continuous skill development, improved market access, and business acumen – enabling long-term economic self-reliance in the community. The demand for the products has exceeded initial expectations and opened new opportunities to develop a community-based enterprise to expand the business
Nadira Yusoff Kiddocare
Nadira Yusoff, Founder and CEO of Kiddocare has played a pivotal role in transforming the care economy in Malaysia. Nadira has not only spearheaded the creation of a user-friendly technological platform that connects parents with vetted caregivers, but she also personally led efforts to establish a comprehensive vetting process for caregivers, ensuring that safety and quality were prioritized. Additionally, Nadira initiated awareness campaigns to educate parents on the importance of professional childcare services and how Kiddocare can meet their needs. This has led to a sustainable care ecosystem that has connected over 5,000 families with qualified caregivers and trained more than 10,000 caregivers, the majority of whom are women.
Lina Tan Suan Jeu
Red Communications
Lina Tan, a trailblazing Malaysian producer, founded Red Communications in 1999. Known for her socially conscious work, she created the TV show 3R to share women-centric stories and break taboos. The show ran for almost 14 years and inspired a generation of Malaysian women. Lina has continued to center women and girls through media with productions like Sa Balik Baju (highlighting six different women and their love/hate relationship with social media) and Lagenda Puteri Qaseh (featuring the main hero as a girl). Her latest series Riot! boldly addresses power dynamics and sexual harassment in Malaysia, leading to a mini Me Too movement in the local film industry.
Bursa Malaysia Berhad
Bursa Malaysia is an Exchange holding company incorporated in 1976 and listed in 2005. It has grown to be one of the largest bourses in ASEAN. Today, Bursa Malaysia operates and regulates a multi-asset exchange, offering a comprehensive range of investment, capital raising, and exchange-related facilities. Bursa Malaysia is committed to its mission of Creating Opportunities, Growing Value for the Malaysian capital market, economy, and society. Bursa Malaysia has responded to the under-representation of women on corporate boards by mandating that listed companies ensure at least 30% of their directors are women. It has also introduced measures to ensure transparency and accountability. This includes requiring companies to report on gender diversity and organize programs to promote this diversity in the marketplace. As a result of these efforts, Malaysia leads the region in terms of the highest proportion of women on the boards of the top 100 listed companies by market capitalization as of 13 December 2023.
Pinkcollar Employment Agency
Pinkcollar is a women-led recruitment agency in Malaysia, dedicated to placing migrant domestic workers in ethical, safe jobs. We create fair employment pathways by eliminating placement fees for migrant workers, offering strong worker support, and ensuring employers have well-matched, well-prepared workers. PinkCollar was awarded the Gender-Responsive Marketplace Award for their ethical recruitment model that has benefited over 500 women migrant domestic workers, ensuring fair treatment and a zero-debt bondage. From fair sourcing and vetting processes to Post-Placement Support with a 24/7 emergency helpline, PinkCollar collaborates with accredited organizations at each step to transform the domestic employment agency industry. Their efforts to professionalize domestic work and advocate for safe workplaces sets a new benchmark for ethical recruitment in Southeast Asia.
Bintang Capital Partners
In March 2024, Bintang Capital Partners launched the sequel funds BCP Asia Fund II and Bintang Semiconductor Impact Fund I. Through this, Bintang aims to collect a comprehensive impact dataset covering a range of ESG verticals including gender-disaggregated data. Apart from ensuring that gender equity goals are integrated into the governance structures and strategic decisions of the companies they invest in, Bintang also takes a hands-on approach in guiding their investees to be more gender inclusive. This holistic approach has seen most of the organizations under them grow their female workforce representation, percentage of female leadership as well as gender inclusive practices.
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1st Runners Up
iTrain
iTrain is a leading tech talent development company that equips professionals across Asia with cutting-edge digital skills. Through strategic collaborations, iTrain empowers individuals and organizations with certifications, mentorship, and training programs, promoting innovation and gender diversity within the technology sector. iTrain, in collaboration with Microsoft, TalentCorp and Girls in Tech, launched the Code Without Barriers initiative to empower over 6,000 women across Malaysia and APAC with technology skills. Through mentorship programs, hackathons, and job placement opportunities, this initiative aims to bridge the gender gap in STEM, fostering a more inclusive tech industry and enhancing women’s visibility and leadership.
Havas Malaysia
Havas Malaysia is committed to driving impactful initiatives and partnerships by embedding the values of DEI in both the workplace and their campaigns. The organization remains dedicated to equal opportunities across the working lifecycle, with multiple initiatives such as diverse interview panels, parental support systems, and mentorship programs to support women in their career development. This has led to a strong leadership team with a gender ratio of 80% female and 20% male . Robust parental support systems also have resulted in increased retention rates . Havas Malaysia has partnered with multiple organizations as well on initiatives such as career comeback for women and promoting female talent in the advertising industry.
Chuah Sze Phing
Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad
Chuah Sze Phing, as Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Group Marketing and Communications at Kenanga, leads the charge in advancing gender equality. Under Sze Phing's leadership, Kenanga has managed to celebration multiple "firsts" in their DEI journey such as: holding their first IWD celebration in 2020 and continuing it ever since, being the first Malaysian investment bank to join UNGC membership. She was also pivotal in advocating for Kenanga to be a WEPs signatory and integrating gender equality into the organization's ESG framework. The organization has completed the Gender Gap Assessment Tool and tracks sex-aggregated data to measure progress toward gender parity, especially at leadership level.
FIRMUS SDN BHD
Celebrating 16 years of excellence, FIRMUS has grown from a leader in penetration testing to a comprehensive cybersecurity provider. With recognition from CyberSecurity Malaysia, ASOCIO, and PIKOM, FIRMUS continues to innovate, blending AI with human expertise to set new benchmarks in protecting businesses across diverse industries. FIRMUS is committed in fostering a gender-inclusive workplace, aiming for 30% female workforce by 2025 and implementing a 1:3 gender ratio in recruitment. The company focuses on equal opportunities throughout talent selection and development, aiming for gender and ethnic diversity parity. FIRMUS’s DEI initiatives, combined with continuous learning and development policy, have significantly boosted talent stability and business growth, reinforcing the corporate commitment to equity and inclusivity.
Wahine Capital Sdn Bhd
Wahine Capital's initiative the W Vault was conceived to support women safeguard their financial assets, as many women lose 50% of their income after divorce. The platform allows for a holistic assessment of financial health, provides tips on wealth accumulation and ensures the information is complete and secured should the individual need urgent access. Beyond that, Wahine Capital also conducts talks focusing on women in finance and successfully organized their first forum called Untying Knots: Navigating Divorce, Finance and New Beginnings in April 2024. This forum reached over 100 delegates and covered topics on financial planning. The team also partners with local organizations with specific programs with women and girls and have managed to raise almost RM50,000 for initiatives like ending child marriage, supporting young and unmarried mothers and entrepreneurship programs for refugee girls.
Julie's Biscuits
Julie's Biscuits challenges traditional gender stereotypes during festive seasons, highlighting issues like ethnic typecasting, ageism, and assumptions about gender roles. Through compelling narratives and relatable characters, the festive films encourage Malaysians to embrace a more inclusive perspective on gender roles, fostering social reflection and progressive change. Each film is crafted with the intention of sparking reflection and discussion, encouraging audiences to question and ultimately dismantle these limiting stereotypes. Julie's Festive Films has achieved remarkable success over the past four years, with the short films/adverts collectively amassing over 32 million views across various social media platforms. It has also generated discussion on gender equality through comments on social media platforms and other digital platforms.
2nd Runners Up
Noor Emeera Hashim
Impacto Sdn Bhd
Emeera Hashim, Chief Impact Officer at Impacto, leads with purpose and strong commitment to impact and sustainability. She is part of the CEO Action Network Secretariat Team and head the CAN Workstream #3 (DEI) to drive diversity, equity and inclusion within Malaysia's private sector, exemplifying her transformative leadership. As the head, Emeera spearheaded the collaborative effort in drafting and finalizing the DEI Implementation Guidebook. The guidebook was successfully launched in 2024 to support organizations in Malaysia on their DEI journey. At Impacto, she champions an inclusive environment by introducing various policies such as extended parental leave for both genders and work-from-home opportunities. Emeera also established impact-related KPIs to encourage employees to contribute to gender equality and other social causes, which has fostered a supportive work environment.
Earth Heir
Earth Heir, a certified BCorp and WFTO social enterprise founded in 2013, empowers marginalized artisans in Malaysia by blending traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design. Collaborating with over 100 artisans, including refugees and indigenous women, the organization creates ethical handmade products while championing social procurement and sustainability. Through its Sustain.Me program, funded by Yayasan Hasanah, Earth Heir trained 48 women in Perak on sustainable product design, pricing, and plastic waste management, boosting participants' incomes by up to 80%. In partnership with UNHCR’s MADE51 initiative, the organization also provided income-generating opportunities for Afghan women artisans.
Forest Interactive
Forest Interactive, founded in 2006, develops mobile platforms connecting operators and subscribers across 30+ countries. Its non-profit arm, Forest Interactive Foundation, established in 2021, focuses on nurturing digital talent, empowering communities, and promoting environmental sustainability through innovative programs and partnerships aligned with UN SDGs. The Forest Interactive Foundation's #seKODlah program, launched in 2022, addresses the gender gap in tech through innovative partnerships. This initiative offers intensive tech boot camps, workshops, and hackathons to empower young adults, particularly women, with digital skills. With a focus on inclusivity and practical experience, #seKODlah has successfully upskilled 70 individuals, including 32 women, outperforming typical tech education enrollment rates and fostering a new generation of diverse tech leaders.
3R Media Sdn Bhd
3R MEDIA was created to empower women through knowledge-sharing initiatives. During the pandemic, 3R Media founded Temu House, which supports women-owned businesses, artists (visual, food & more) and entrepreneurs through networking sessions, developing a community in a gender inclusive safe space. They have organized to date 25 women-led events where they collaborate with women entrepreneurs in promoting their products and services, female chefs/cooks, and female artists. Currently, they procure 100% from female-owned businesses.
*The UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards represents recognition of exemplary company efforts for gender equality and is limited to a designated category and a specific location and time period. Awarded organizations, alongside their products and services, receiving awards are not endorsed or affiliated with UN Women or WeEmpowerAsia and being recognized as an Awardee does not constitute a partnership. Claims, statements, or endorsements made by awardees are solely those of the individual or organization and do not represent official policies or positions of UN Women.
What are the WEPs?
2020 Awardees
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