Wife, mother, daughter, breadwinner… these are some of the many roles that women today play. But one question that keeps appearing, especially this International Women’s Day: Are we giving enough support to help women shine in their chosen fields?

At work, there are more women in leadership roles than before. According to the Diversity Action Committee, women make up 9.5 per cent of the boards of Singapore-listed companies last year; up by 0.7 percentage point from the previous year, The Business Times reported. While this is seen as an encouraging change, perhaps it’s not changing quickly enough.

From left: Laurel West, Lynette Leong, Susi Pudjiastuti, Graeme Harlow and Chea Serey.

Female professionals here feel the same way. According to HSBC’s recent gender survey, which gathered responses from 300 female mid-level and senior executives from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, 56 per cent of Singaporean women believe that females are under-represented in senior management.

Start with education

One of the reasons may be that women, including those in the Western world who’re perceived to be more outspoken than Asians, aren’t “selling” themselves as much as the men do in the corporate world, says Laurel West, editorial director Thought Leadership Asia, The Economist.

To help women with this, Susi Pudjiastuti, minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in Indonesia recommends that women shouldn’t feel inferior. Instead, start to “develop confidence; worry less” and believe that you can be as successful as your male colleagues. And we can look at instilling the right mentality in our younger generation through schools, which can play a significant role in influencing the way girls grow up.

“Schools can teach the girls to have a more ‘equal’ feeling… instil self-confidence by telling them that they can achieve the things that men can too,” advises minister Susi.

Companies must actively participate

In order for organisations to retain the best talents, they have to implement the right development plans and unleash the employee’s potential. Graeme Harlow, managing director Diageo Southeast Asia, advises all senior leaders to first identify the candidates that have the potential to take on bigger roles in their organisations, and make sure that women are equally represented in it. “It’s not just about their current performance; it’s about identifying their potential. After which, ask yourself: Do you have enough women in the group?”

Having the right conversations, such as a realistic and open dialogue on what female employees need to do to get ahead, is also essential in helping to push more females up the corporate ladder. “Middle managers are entitled to know what their managers’ views on their performances are, and they should then work together to identify the key ‘springs’ to leverage on,” adds Harlow.

At the same time, companies should also treat their employees as human beings, instead of judging them based on gender. Chea Serey, director-general of Central Banking National Bank of Cambodia points out: “Treat women and men equally. You don’t have to look at the person as a woman or man. Just treat the person as a person with his or her own capability to provide for the organisation.”

Working mums should have equal opportunities too

When it comes to working mums, things may get challenging in the office. Sher-li Torrey, founder of Mums@Work Singapore — the first career portal here that helps mums to find work-life balance — points out that the mums whom she’s worked with often give feedback that they don’t get the same promotion opportunities. “There are some assumptions that mums become less efficient as a worker and therefore, they miss promotion chances.”

Some of the mums who’re returning to the workforce see themselves differently too. “While men can take a break from work and return feeling the same, mums start to ‘doubt’ their abilities even though they’re very talented at what they do,” says Torrey. 

Women should help each other more

Another surprising reason why there aren’t enough female voices in the boardroom is because women may see each other as competition when they help one another. “Women may be more suspicious of each other whereas men are more direct; if they don’t like your work, they may just tell you directly. This may be why mentorship isn’t strong enough here,” says Torrey.

Interestingly, 54 per cent of Singapore professional women agree that it is their responsibility to help other women. “Mentoring programmes are important and helpful for women who really want to navigate their way through the organisation,” says Lynette Leong, CEO CapitaLand and Commercial Trust. “It can be tough and you may be unclear of how to go about doing this. The mentoring doesn’t need to be formal sessions; informal ones like having coffee with your colleagues can be helpful too.”

To help solve this issue, the HSBC survey participants have suggested that companies can give advice to, as well as train female employees on specific leadership skills and help them get more recognition for their work.