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*Translations are unofficial and provided by Google translate
UN Women 2020 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards:
Meet the Regional Judges
REGIONAL (incl. Thailand & Malaysia)
Aditi Mohapatra
Aditi Mohapatra works with BSR members across sectors to help them improve and advance their sustainability strategies. She leads BSR’s global portfolio of work on women’s empowerment across consulting, collaboration, and research. Aditi joined BSR after several years at Calvert Investment Management, a leading sustainable and responsible investment firm. There, she led strategic planning for Calvert’s executive committee, and held various roles within the sustainability research team. Her portfolio included companies in the information and communications technology sector, and she led corporate engagements on the subjects of gender corporate governance and gender equality, including the advancement of the Calvert Women’s Principles. Aditi holds an M.B.A. in Finance from George Washington University and a B.S. in International Economics from the University of Florida.
“The Women’s Empowerment Principles provide a powerful and unique framework for companies to recognize their opportunities to influence the status of women—from employment practices to supplier relationships and product and service development.”
“The Women’s Empowerment Principles provide a powerful and unique framework for companies to recognize their opportunities to influence the status of women—from employment practices to supplier relationships and product and service development.”
Aurora “Boots” Geotina-Garcia
Ma. Aurora “Boots” Geotina-Garcia is the President of Mageo Consulting Inc. A Certified Public Accountant, she started her professional career at SGV & Co. / EY Philippines. Boots was the first female Chairperson of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and now sits as Member of the Board of several private corporations engaged in various industries. Boots leads the Philippine Women’s Economic Network as its Chairperson. She also co-chairs the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment and was the former Co-Chair of the ASEAN Women's Entrepreneurs' Network. She was recognized as ASEAN Woman Entrepreneur at the ASEAN Business Awards in 2019.
“We believe that gender equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace must be embedded in our business strategies as it will yield sustainable benefits, including higher profitability and productivity and increased ability to retain talent. We continue to strive for inclusive progress built upon a common understanding across the workplace, home, and broader community."
“We believe that gender equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace must be embedded in our business strategies as it will yield sustainable benefits, including higher profitability and productivity and increased ability to retain talent. We continue to strive for inclusive progress built upon a common understanding across the workplace, home, and broader community."
Marcella Lucas
Dr. Marcella Lucas is an innovation strategist who brings a global perspective to solving problems through innovative methods and solutions. She has worked with cross-cultural teams in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa. Trained and certified as a Blue Ocean Strategy practitioner, Marcella was recruited to Malaysia in 2014 to deliver on strategic initiatives to support the National Transformation efforts of the Malaysian government. Marcella is now the CEO of LeadWomen, a Malaysian grown enterprise which focuses on getting more women onto Board of Directors and into C-suite positions. Under Marcella’s leadership, LeadWomen has developed from a training provider to now provide a One-Stop-Solution for high calibre candidates looking for board opportunities and for boards looking for the right talent to meet their business needs.
"Innovative solutions to address today’s challenges require diversity of thought. It requires us tapping into the potential of all - including the women in our companies and wider communities."
"Innovative solutions to address today’s challenges require diversity of thought. It requires us tapping into the potential of all - including the women in our companies and wider communities."
Joni Simpson
Joni Simpson is Senior Specialist in Gender, Equality and Non-Discrimination for East and South East Asia and the Pacific at the International Labour Organization (ILO). She provides technical guidance and support on gender equality, non-discrimination and women’s economic empowerment approaches to ILO constituents and partners for policies and programmes relating to gender, inclusion and non-discrimination in the world of work. Joni has over 20 years promoting women’s leadership and women’s entrepreneurship – and was ILO’s Global Coordinator & Specialist in Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and Entrepreneurship Education in Geneva for seven years. Joni also has over ten years of experience in Community Economic Development and Community Credit micro finance, working on building accessible and gender-responsive programmes and policies in Entrepreneurship Development.
Pam Phornprapha
Pranapda is a Director of Siam Motors Group, President of Siam Music Yamaha, and Siam Nissan Automobiles. She is Chairwoman and Co-Founder of Paroshoot, a fashion retail & distribution company that operates 70+ outlets in Thailand, including Christian Louboutin, Berluti, Petit Bateau, Havaianas, and Missoni. In 2019, she founded Dragonfly360, a regional platform bringing business leaders, influencers and activists together to catalyze public action for gender equality and women’s empowerment. She also championed the ‘Right to Breathe’ environmental campaign as a member of YPO ASEAN United and founding member of YPO Zen Pacific. She holds a BA from Brown University.
“The private sector can change their corporate policies and governance for the advancement of women in order to achieve a more gender-neutral environment. Leaders can support equal pay, encourage more women on the board, set quantitative recruitment goals to support gender equality and ensure there is transparency in the candidates selection process in order to create an equal opportunity workplace which leads to a better society as a whole.”
“The private sector can change their corporate policies and governance for the advancement of women in order to achieve a more gender-neutral environment. Leaders can support equal pay, encourage more women on the board, set quantitative recruitment goals to support gender equality and ensure there is transparency in the candidates selection process in order to create an equal opportunity workplace which leads to a better society as a whole.”
Richa Singh
Richa leads Oxfam in Asia’s research and policy work in the region. Her current work focusses on addressing women’s unpaid and underpaid work in Asia through a multi-stakeholder regional alliance, and providing technical support in addressing gender inequality and justice. Richa is a feminist, who prior to Oxfam, worked with national and international agencies in Asia to ensure women’s and citizens’ voice influence policy and practice; served as the Gender Advisor to the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs in assisting women’s economic empowerment in Afghanistan; and worked with CSO and governments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and other fragile zones to integrate women’s agenda in the policy arena.
Samantha Hung
Samantha Hung is the Chief of Gender Equity Thematic Group at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) where she provides leadership for advancing gender equality across all aspects of ADB operations. Samantha has over 20 years of experience in gender equality at project, program and policy levels in the Asia Pacific. Before joining ADB 11 years ago, Samantha held gender specialist roles for the New Zealand Agency for International Development, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, UNICEF, Australian Government and the UK Institute of Development Studies.
“As the largest creator of jobs in developing countries, the private sector has a critical role to play in advancing women’s economic empowerment and SDG 5, including through more gender-inclusive employment and workplace practices.”
“As the largest creator of jobs in developing countries, the private sector has a critical role to play in advancing women’s economic empowerment and SDG 5, including through more gender-inclusive employment and workplace practices.”
Ruth Lancaster
Ruth Lancaster is a Business Development and Partnerships Specialist. Her work focuses on increasing women’s participation in markets, and dignified employment opportunities by developing shared value partnerships across multi sectors. Her involvement with small-and large-scale partnerships has focused on the issue of modern slavery, enabling the empowerment of women and girls, the implementation of ethical work practices and policies, and the scaling of proven programs. Ruth has presented on these issues at a number of forums including the LEGACY Summit, Social Enterprise World Forum and at major brand events and seminars. Ruth holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) and Master of Business Administration along with continued studies on a Master of International Development.
Luis Marquez
Luis Marquez has been working for over 15 years in promoting gender equality in the public and private sectors through his work with organizations like the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, United Nations, and dozens of investors and corporations across Asia, Africa and Latin America. At Value for Women, Luis leads projects that provide impact investors, banks and governments with gender-lens advisory support. Luis holds a BS in Business Administration from Boston University and an MA in International Relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
“Applying a gender lens to the workforce, market and value chains of businesses is not rocket science. It is the right and smart thing to do. The WEPs help us by giving us a common language to speak to each other about how to take gender action and learn from each other.”
“Applying a gender lens to the workforce, market and value chains of businesses is not rocket science. It is the right and smart thing to do. The WEPs help us by giving us a common language to speak to each other about how to take gender action and learn from each other.”
Koh Miyaoi
Koh Miyaoi is currently the Asia-Pacific Gender Team Leader and Gender Advisor for UNDP, based in Bangkok, Thailand and a gender equality expert with 25 years of professional experiences in multi-disciplinary sustainable development. She has held positions with the UN Division for the Advancement of Women (UN DAW), UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), UNDP Thailand Country Office, UNDP Regional Centre Colombo, UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre, and UNDP Sub-Regional Response Facility for Syria-related Crisis. Working in collaboration with civil society organizations, governments, and the private sector partners, she has provided policy advisory, strategic vision-setting, analytical insights, programming, and management capacity building.
“The private sector is an engine of economic growth, and their influence over shaping the business ecosystem, including their own workplaces, to be more inclusive and gender-equal must be appreciated. With their committed actions, we can expect transformative changes to the world of work so that it is more future-oriented and SDG-aligned.”
“The private sector is an engine of economic growth, and their influence over shaping the business ecosystem, including their own workplaces, to be more inclusive and gender-equal must be appreciated. With their committed actions, we can expect transformative changes to the world of work so that it is more future-oriented and SDG-aligned.”
Wichai Limpitikranon
Dr. Wichai serves as the Business and Economic Development Manager at Kenan where he provides business consulting services to support and enhance the development of sustainable competitiveness for SMEs and non-profit organizations in Thailand. He worked with USAID, UNDEF and Citi Foundation supporting women’s empowerment in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, providing training and coaching to women leaders on project and grant management, financial literacy, and building linkages with key mobilizers.
“Factors influencing occupational success – expectations about women’s reproductive role, barriers to networking opportunities and perceptions of men as more rational, decisive, and daring – create obstacles for women to fully participate in business. We believe that by adopting the WEPs framework, private sector is better positioned to endorse and validate good practices, and highlight areas for improvement.”
“Factors influencing occupational success – expectations about women’s reproductive role, barriers to networking opportunities and perceptions of men as more rational, decisive, and daring – create obstacles for women to fully participate in business. We believe that by adopting the WEPs framework, private sector is better positioned to endorse and validate good practices, and highlight areas for improvement.”
Maya Juwita
Maya Juwita is Executive Director of Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE), which is a coalition of companies that are committed to promote women’s economic empowerment and gender equality at workplace. Prior to the current position, she was Head of HR at WWF Indonesia and HR Manager for Southeast Asia Regional Program at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) which harnesses the benefits of trees for people and the environment. She has also served as a HR & GA Manger at the Partnership for Governance Reform (Kemitraan) which was a multi-stake holders’ organization with mission to establish fair, democratic and sustainable governance in Indonesia. She has a master’s degree in business law from the University of Gadjah Mada.
“The world is populated by men and women almost equally. By fostering gender-sensitive culture and practices, companies are actually ensuring their future sustainability by getting business insights from both genders which lead to maximum performance and growth.”
“The world is populated by men and women almost equally. By fostering gender-sensitive culture and practices, companies are actually ensuring their future sustainability by getting business insights from both genders which lead to maximum performance and growth.”
2020 Judges
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