The Future is Female

Malaysia has made it mandatory for all Public Listed Companies on Bursa Malaysia to have at least one woman director by January next year, with the goal of achieving a minimum of 30% Gender Balance at all senior decision-making tables across Malaysia, including Boards and c-Suite. Melisa Idris speaks to Christina Foo, Independent Director and Fellow with the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia about supporting women so they can translate their professional skills and experience into leadership and board-level roles.

Every day 3,000 tonnes of edible food is thrown away in Malaysia - enough to feed 10 million people daily. The Lost Food Project helps to rescue an average of 10 tonnes of food per week from going to landfills. Melisa Idris speaks to Suzanne Mooney, founder of The Lost Food Project to better understand the scale of food waste and the role we each can play in addressing this issue. Suzanne Mooney is also a recipient of the 2020 Merdeka Award for Outstanding Contribution to the People of Malaysia.

Non-executive workers make up 75% of Malaysia's workforce but they are sorely underserved in the recruitment process. Melisa Idris speaks to Joelle Pang, General Manager of FastJobs Malaysia, about its role in helping to connect entry-level and non-executive job-seekers to prospective employers.

Melisa Idris speaks to the only Malaysian to make history as a 5-time gold winner at the World Masters Swimming Championships, Cindy Ong.

In an age of fast fashion and mass production, the value of artisanship has become vastly under-appreciated, putting craft legacies at risk. The dream of preserving heritage crafts for generations to come was precisely why the Dia Guild was founded -- a platform where Southeast Asian labels and craft could be introduced to, and appreciated by, a global market. Melisa Idris speaks to one of the co-founders of Dia, Aisha Hassan.

On most of those ‘important days’ in our life, flowers are usually around -- weddings and anniversaries, births and deaths, Mothers’ Day and Valentine’s Day. Roses are red, but not very ‘green’. The truth is, there is an environmental cost with every bouquet of flowers. Melisa Idris speaks to Brenda James, Founder and Principal Florista of Nook Flowers, a boutique floral design firm doing its best to champion sustainability in floristry.

As we enter the third year of living and working during a pandemic, navigating the changes in workplace dynamics and values hasn’t seemed to get any easier. Melisa Idris speaks to organisational psychologist Hetal Doshi, CEO of O Psych, about ways to  cope with, and adapt to, the changes occurring at the workplace, and within the workforce.

Malaysia’s first Women’s Tribunal, organised by the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) and Engender Consultancy, is set to take place online on the 27th and 28th of November. Melisa Idris speaks to co-conveners of Women’s Tribunal Malaysia 2021 Meera Samanther and Wathshlah Naidu about the virtual tribunal, and the importance of holding space for women to share stories of the violations and injustices they’ve experienced.

Screening and early detection of breast cancer remain a challenge in Malaysia, mainly due to a lack of awareness of symptoms and sociocultural barriers. The ‘Know Your Lemons’ campaign uses lemons as a stand-in for the breast — helping bypass communication barriers of literacy, taboo, embarrassment, and fear.

On ‘Thr Future Is Female’ Melisa Idris speaks to Corrine Ellsworth-Beaumont, CEO and Founder of Know Your Lemons, and Dr Nur Aishah Mohd Taib, Consultant Breast Surgeon at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, who are both on a mission to educate every woman about breast cancer symptoms.

According to UNICEF, younger children are more likely to be abused by a family member or caregiver. How can we help equip our children with education and empowerment over their body safety, consent and personal boundaries? Parenting platform Makchic has published a children’s book titled: ‘​​What If?’ in hopes of generating greater awareness about child sexual abuse prevention in Malaysia. Melisa Idris speaks to Makchic’s Managing Editor, Kimberly Lee & CEO, Najmin Tajudin, to learn about the story behind the book.