Mentorship over Sisterhood will be effective

Sue Kamal is the Executive Director at SKC Smart (M) and works from Malaysia and Sultanate of Oman. She believes that men have to be closely engaged in bringing about a paradigm change at the workplace and that more women mentors are required.

What according to you are the successes of gender equality movement which gathered momentum towards the end of the last decade?
The success of the gender equality movement in the last decade can be seen in many aspects. One, many women are getting represented on the Board of Directors in corporate sector, becoming owners of self-made business empires, global business leaders and even heading the most critical Enforcement and Intelligence divisions. In democratic countries we are also seeing women being voted in as elected representatives in Parliaments and also as Policy Makers, Ministers and even Head of State.

At the start of this decade, what would be your three priorities for gender equal workplaces?
Three priorities for gender equal workplaces:
* Provide equal benefits and compensation practice irrespective of genders
* Equal fairness in job scope and work description
* Creating conducive working environment for all genders with equal opportunities, equal pay thru equal work loads.

How important is the role of men in this movement and what according to you should organisations do to involve them?
In facilitating this movement, men can play an important role by engaging themselves in the effort to balance equality at the workplace. They can help by creating awareness among other men in understanding gender bias issues and bridging the gap. Men need to make personal change in their mindset on this effort, not just organisational changes.

Organisations should ensure without exception, the male personnel involvement towards the effort to educate men in gender equality at workplace. The organisation should create a conducive environment for men and women to discuss the issue of gender equality at workplace, in order to change the perspective on how they look at things, particularly the impact on the organisation.

How important is the concept of “Sisterhood” in accelerating change?
In my personal view, its more about ‘Mentorship’ than ‘Sisterhood’ for accelerating change. Having a mentor, you are well-guided and of course learning a lot of values and perspectives based on life experience.

Do you think we need a young champion like Greta Thunberg for this cause as well?
Not necessary. Equality gender in workplace can be easily achieved if there is understanding and co-operation. It is like working in a team. Forget alter-ego, tolerance and respect are always the vital key to balance-up any situation.