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Surayyah Ahmad on Greater Participation for Nigerian Women in Tech

ABUJA, NG, Jan 2, 2023 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Surayyah Ahmad, Ethco Group Ltd co-founder and Executive Secretary of Startup AREWA has discussed the underrepresentation of Nigerian women in the tech industry, and women's effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in the tech ecosystem. She identified several important elements that can raise women's involvement in technology and help the nation achieve a balanced workforce.Surayyah Ahmad, Ethco co-founder and Executive Secretary, Startup AREWA, discussed underrepresentation of Nigerian women in the tech industry and opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in the tech ecosystem. [Image: Startup AREWA]"Studies from all across the world are showing that women are underrepresented in the tech industry, despite recent headlines concentrating on tech hiring sprees and the underrepresentation of diverse populations. Although the reasons for this differ, it is known that many people's decision to seek a career in technology dates back to their elementary school years," she says.Women hold only 18% of undergraduate computer science degrees and 26% of computing occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Since the 1990s, there has been a decrease in the proportion of women working in computer science-related fields, from 35% to 26% between 1990 and 2013. According to the United Nations, only one in five experts in technical disciplines like artificial intelligence are women.Only 16% of females at the pre-university level have had tech occupations recommended to them, and only 3% of them originally planned to pursue careers in technology, according to a recent report by Price Waterhouse Coppers (PwC) survey on women in technology. This figure is less in conservative regions such as Northern Nigeria, which, according to a World Bank report, could take more than 40 years to catch up with the country's southern region.Regardless of the disparity in accessing opportunities, women are starting to develop ideas and lead change through technology in their immediate contexts, despite the disparities in access. Things are gradually changing as more young women become interested in technology. Despite the underrepresentation of women in the tech industry globally, women have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to advance society, such as by reviving small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria.Surayyah cited two sisters in Nigeria as an example of this achievement of women in technology. The sisters took the initiative to create an app, which would provide technical support to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses. According to the sisters, Kesandu and Dumebi Nwokolo, the app is intended to assist budding entrepreneurs and serve as a stepping stone that will increase visibility and ostensibly display these abilities, goods and services to the world.Ms. Odunayo Eweniyi, the Co-founder of Piggy Vest, has opined that in Africa, the normative beliefs that put women in subordination to men as a culture while encouraging patriarchy have put women on the sidelines of critical decision-making around the world. She says, "The lack of women in tech can't be explained away by innate biological differences. It is really down to a combination of systemic bias, men funding men, and a working culture that excludes women."Surayyah states that more women from Northern Nigeria are coming up with programs to help Northern women get into tech. Start-up Kano run by Aisha Tofa, the Brief Academy run by Farida Yahya, and TTlabs are currently some of the female-led institutions driving the inclusion of northern women in technology, mostly by providing mentoring and sponsorship to technology institutions.Giving girls early access to technology is a good start, but it's never too late to give women the chance to get the experience they need to start a career in technology. Organizations can create valuable technical talent development programs that promote women and help diversity in representation and ideas, which frequently results in even greater innovation."Through job shadowing or internships, these programs give women a chance to learn technical skills that they can use in real life. Participants can learn useful information and meet other people who are interested in the same things they are. Even the experience gained can help develop their talents and launch a technological career," Surayyah said.About Startup AREWAStartup AREWA was established to organize, empower and promote the Northern Nigeria technology and Startup Ecosystem, with the overarching goal of using technology and startups as a strategy to combat unemployment and poverty across the Northern Nigeria.From the first Bootcamp at Bello Memorial Foundation Hall in Kaduna to a series of over 20 Bootcamps across Northern Nigeria, engaging over 5000 Startups with support from innovators and public-private leaders, Startup AREWA is implementing its strategic plan of promoting and providing real-time support to Startups.Official website: https://startuparewa.ngFacebook: https://facebook.com/startuparewaTwitter: https://twitter.com/startuparewaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/startuparewa/Email: hello@startuparewa.ngFor more information, please visit https://startuparewa.ng, write to contact@startuparewa.ng, or call us on +234 90 9685 9999. Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Dr. Marliyyah Mahmood discusses the Impact of Tech on Women in Northern Nigeria

ABUJA, NG, Jan 2, 2023 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Dr. Marliyyah A. Mahmood, Women In Tech and Project Manager for Startup AREWA, discusses how technology is enabling and enhancing women's empowerment in Northern Nigeria. She emphasizes some of the fundamental advantages of social media technologies, such as giving women access to a virtual environment where they may express themselves.Dr. Marliyyah A. Mahmood, Women In Tech, Project Manager for Startup AREWA, spoke on how technology is enabling and enhancing women's empowerment in Northern Nigeria. [Image: Startup AREWA]"It is impossible to overstate the importance of women in the growth of any nation, state, or community. This is to reiterate the critical role that women's education plays in long-term national development, which begins at home. Women are frequently observed to be the children's first teachers at home. A mother's influence on upbringing in any developing country, and the empowerment of women, has a significant impact on key developmental outcomes like health, education, reproductive patterns, income level, and other factors," said Dr Mahmood. While a report from PWC in April 2020 states that 41% of micro-businesses in Nigeria are owned by women, a report in EFInA stated that 55% of the financially excluded adults in Nigeria are women, and of the 25.1 million financially excluded in the north, 13.1 million are women. Business transactions are largely cash within informal channels, as business funds are kept at home because financial institutions are concentrated in the state capital, while poor record-keeping from transacting through informal channels in turn hampers eligibility for credit.The previous census, which was performed in 2006, indicated that women made up around 49.7% of the population of Nigeria. Despite this, Nigerian women (particularly those in the northern region) have not been able to change the long-standing status that society accords to women. There are a number of reasons why women in Northern Nigerian society are treated unequally, the majority of which can be linked to the patriarchal system in place and the general lack of gender awareness among the rural population, including women who have been socialized to accept their subordinate position.However, with better access to information online, women have developed a greater sense of awareness. Online educational content, blogs videos and social media tools have given women access to a virtual world that provides them with opportunities for self-expression. Digital platforms are aiming to be more inclusive than ever before in light of the changing political conscience. It is now essential, not simply an option, to guarantee women's safety, inclusivity, and a voice at all intersections.Through online workspaces, more women have recently been able to achieve financial independence. There are now more jobs available for women thanks to specific job postings on numerous online portals. Housewives or moms who have taken extended absences from the workforce now have access to special possibilities to re-enter the workforce. Many websites provide part-time and full-time occupations that people can undertake from home.In Northern Nigeria, Startup AREWA and Financial Service Innovation (FSI) organized a virtual hackathon on financial inclusion amongst female entrepreneurs within the northern region by proffering simple and easy-to-use fintech solutions to increase more of their participation in setting up businesses. The innovative solutions developed from this hackathon were able to tackle the challenges faced by unbanked and underbanked female entrepreneurs in Northern Nigeria.Dr. Marliyyah reveals how women now have access to a wide range of created opportunities online as a result of technology advancements. "Technology has helped women affirm their freedom of expression and right to the workforce, which they frequently find difficult to accomplish. This is a really great achievement that shows how it can be utilized to empower those with disadvantaged identities."However, it must not be overlooked that having internet access is necessary in order to take use of these virtual prospects. How many women and members of underrepresented groups actually have access to such technology is still an open subject. To ensure that intersectional gaps are filled and that technology and the internet are more widely available, intervention is necessary in this context."About Startup AREWAStartup AREWA was established to organize, empower and promote the Northern Nigeria technology and Startup Ecosystem, with the overarching goal of using technology and startups as a strategy to combat unemployment and poverty across the Northern Nigeria.From the first Bootcamp at Bello Memorial Foundation Hall in Kaduna to a series of over 20 Bootcamps across Northern Nigeria, engaging over 5000 Startups with support from innovators and public-private leaders, Startup AREWA is implementing its strategic plan of promoting and providing real-time support to Startups.Official website: https://startuparewa.ngFacebook: https://facebook.com/startuparewaTwitter: https://twitter.com/startuparewaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/startuparewa/Email: hello@startuparewa.ngFor more information, please visit https://startuparewa.ng, write to contact@startuparewa.ng, or call us on +234 90 9685 9999. Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Women in power take centre stage at PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit VIP Cocktail Party

BANGKOK, THAILAND, Dec 16, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - PropertyGuru Group (NYSE: PGRU), ("PropertyGuru" or the "Company"), Southeast Asia's leading property technology company, launched its annual celebration of outstanding female leaders in the region at the PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit (ARES) VIP Cocktail Party on 8 December 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand.Themed 'Celebrating Power Women in Real Estate', this exclusive gathering sponsored by PropertyGuru for Business stresses the importance of equality in real estate and tech, which was among the crucial themes discussed at ARES 2022 during its thought leadership summit themed 'Adaptive Reinvention'.While more diverse representation in real estate has improved, the lack of women in senior leadership roles is still apparent. A study conducted by Urban Land Institute's Women's Leadership Initiative in major Asia Pacific countries revealed that merely 37 percent of women are in top positions, while 50 percent identified how company policies, including maternity/familial leaves and flexible work hours, are critical to their success and advancement. PropertyGuru Group is committed to driving diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and alongside their partners, "We are building for the future - a future that is more equitable, a future where more of us can have a fair shot at equal opportunities in life. Be it housing, job opportunities, community contribution, and more" said Ho Shyn Yee, Managing Director of Data and Software Solutions and executive sponsor of Women in Leadership at PropertyGuru Group.This year, ARES' focus on DEI is greater than ever, granting the stage to over 50 percent of women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. To showcase their valuable contributions to the industry, the ARES VIP Cocktail Party honoured four outstanding women leaders from across the region, such as Cyndy Tan Jarabata, the President of TAJARA Leisure & Hospitality Group, Inc. and the first female chairperson of the PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards.Upon receiving the honour, she said: "There is still so much opportunity in the Philippine property sector and no limit to what we can achieve. We need to be consistent in creating value for our community and differentiate offerings in order to build better in today's built environment."Loemongga Haoemasan, the President Director at Asiana Group (Indonesia) and an esteemed speaker at this year's ARES, was also one of the honourees of the evening. With this recognition, she hopes that, "PropertyGuru's continued support to equality will open many doors and opportunities for other women in the industry and we can inspire others." Sarena Cheah, Managing Director of the Property Division at Sunway Berhad, who was also the Real Estate Personality of the Year recipient at the PropertyGuru Asia Awards Malaysia in 2020, echoes her sentiment, saying, "I hope that each of us continue to celebrate the Power in Women for many years to come as we pursue in creating positive influences to our homes, society, and nation, together."Suphin Mechuchep, the Chairperson at JLL Thailand and PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards, expresses her gratitude for the honour, "When I chose to start my work life in real estate 30 years ago, I knew that I would have a great opportunity to develop my career path in this major sector that touches everyone's life. But I didn't expect to come this far. I feel very delighted and honoured to be named as one of the ARES Power Women."As a token, these inspiring women were given equally inspiring necklaces from Fugeelah. Established by Deborah Henry in 2017 with support from UNHCR & Rotary Malaysia, this women-led conscious jewellery brand has been at the forefront of educating, employing, and empowering refugee children and youth. The brand's main objective is to contribute to sustainably managing Fugee School, a non-profit organisation, so it can continue to offer free education and support for all refugees. Magali Du Parc Crosta, co-founder and senior strategic advisor at Baan Dek Foundation, as well as founder of Thai social enterprise Dao Ethical Gifts, was among the notable women present at the celebration. As an enterprise that empowers women in marginalised communities, through the establishment of Dao, Magali "envisions a world where vulnerable women are able to realise their childhood dreams, gain a newfound sense of ambition, and thrive in safer communities."PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit (ARES 2022) is supported by official MICE partner Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB); official partner PropertyGuru for Business; official channel partners History and Lifetime; official magazine and podcast Property Report by PropertyGuru; official PR partner Artemis Associates; media partners d+a Magazine, Esquire PH, Hot Magazine, People Asia, REm Thailand, Southeast Asia Globe, The Grid, and Think of Living; official ESG partner Baan Dek Foundation; official charity partner Liter of Light; and supporting associations Green Building Consulting & Engineering, IFC - Building Resilience Index, IFC - Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies, and REHDA Institute.For more information, visit AsiaRealEstateSummit.com or email ares@propertyguru.com.PropertyGuru Group contacts:Speakers & Corporate:Richard Allan AquinoHead of Brand & Marketing ServicesTel: +66 92 954 4154Email: allan@propertyguru.com Sponsorships:Kanittha Srithongsuk Regional Manager of Awards SponsorshipTel: +66 87 708 5237Email: kanittha@propertyguru.com Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. 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Poh Heng Encapsulates Women Empowerment with its Latest Freestyle Collection

SINGAPORE, Nov 30, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Poh Heng Jewellery, Singapore's hallmark jewellery brand, is celebrating women and freedom of expression with the latest addition to its Freestyle collection. Inspired by modern women, the bolt designs symbolise power and strength, while the bling designs represent expression of style, success and aspirations. Encased in dazzling gems, this collection makes a perfect gift for the upcoming festive season.Celebrating Modern WomenLeft: Bling Necklace; Right: Bolt NecklaceBolt and Bling, Mix & Match EarringsAvailable in both 18K white gold and 22K yellow gold, customers can choose from a total of 35 designs to enhance their style. Elegant, yet modern, the diamonds in each piece boast incredible craftsmanship that catches the light in any setting, making them perfect for any occasion. Poh Heng's Freestyle Collection has always been to provide wearers the freedom of expression to create one's own unique and personal style. Asymmetric pairing options are available for earrings, which allows greater flexibility for wearers to customise the jewellery based on their style and preferences.Poh Heng has established itself as the go-to for meaningful jewellery pieces across generations, and we are constantly inspired by stories of real people and their lives that shape our design philosophy. This collection is inspired by the strength, individuality and resilience of modern women. Poh Heng wanted to create something that showcases women's tenacity while still giving them the freedom to express, choosing the pieces that speak to them.Celebrating Modern WomenIn celebrating women as overcomers, Poh Heng has also partnered with Patricia Tan, a local in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) fighter, to front the campaign. Patricia went through six years of IVF attempts before getting pregnant with her daughter in November 2019. Her tenacity saw her through the darkest storms in those years and she emerged as a Warrior. Poh Heng is proud to join hands with Patricia to celebrate women - a true force of nature.Bold, sleek, and edgy, the use of the lightning and star motifs aim to encapsulate the sense of adventure through embodying the daily challenges that modern women face as well as their strength in getting back up.Customers are encouraged to play with the different pairing options, mix and match the earrings based on their style, outfit and mood of the day. The designs in 18K gold are now available, while the 22K gold jewellery will be available on 9 December. For more information, please visit www.pohheng.com.sg.About Poh Heng JewelleryAs a trusted jeweller and a specialist in gold for more than 70 years, Poh Heng Jewellery offers an extensive range of gold jewellery made of highest quality and hallmarked by the Singapore Assay Office for guaranteed purity. With its unwavering commitment to exceptional service and craftsmanship, Poh Heng continues to drive excellence in its design and product offering, and is recognised as a member of the Quality Jewellers of Singapore.Website: www.pohheng.com.sgCustomer Service Hotline: 1800-POH HENG (1800-764 4364)For Media Enquiries, please contact:PRecious Communications for Poh Heng JewelleryPohheng@preciouscomms.com Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Novotech India Recognised as “Best Workplaces for Women 2022” by Global Work Standards Authority

SYDNEY, AU, Oct 12, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Novotech, the leading Asia Pacific biotech specialist CRO, has again received "Best Workplace" certification by the leading workplace culture organization Great Place to Work Institute. Novotech's India team has received a Best Workplaces for Women 2022 recognition and listed in the Top 75 organisations in India recognised for excelling people practices, responsiveness to feedback and a culture of openness and diversity. Novotech also holds Great Place to Workplace recognition in Australia and Korea.To identify India's Best Workplaces for Women 2022, Great Place to Work India studied 1122 organizations that had:- Women employees constituting at least 10% of their workforce- Women employees sharing at least 70% positive feedback on the Great Place to Work Trust Index Organizations that excelled in gender parity in representationAccording to Great Place to Work India: "We have observed that the Best Workplaces have gone above and beyond to create and sustain aspirational organizations. We congratulate Novotech for being a role-model in India by fostering an equal and equitable workplace culture."Novotech CEO Dr. John Moller said: "As a leading employer of women in India we are extremely pleased to be ranked among the top companies in India as a Best Workplaces for Women 2022. This is especially important for retaining and attracting top talent. This recognition demonstrates the importance of culture, diversity and work life balance as we strive to be one of the leading employers so we can deliver our world-class CRO services across India." Novotech's Chief People Officer Angela Edwardson said: "We are delighted that Novotech India has been recognized as a leading employer for women. This is a real credit to our workplace culture and leadership that drives all our Asia Pacific and North American teams. Novotech attracts a high proportion of talented female employees, so we are extremely proud to have our workplace recognized using the criteria from the Great Place to Work Institute's Trust Index and the Gender Parity in Experience & Representation. Our continued focus on building a leading workplace means team members can balance their personal responsibilities with work during all stages of life."According to Yooni Kim, Vice President, Global Clinical Services Novotech: "Employees are the most valuable assets of a company. Novotech is dedicated to improving our working environment and enhance employee health and wellbeing. We are more than grateful to receive this recognition."Sridevi Gubbala, Manager Centralized Document Management Novotech said: "Novotech is a great place to work. It's wonderful to have flexibility at work because it helps me balance my work and personal life."Vandana Jaising, Manager Project Support joined Novotech after an extended career break and said: "Women should consider coming back, even if it is has been a while. Before joining Novotech I took an eight-year career break, and now I'm glad Novotech had the confidence in me to say 'YES! You can do it!'"Novotech has operations across Asia Pacific and the US offering a unique and unparalleled suite of CRO services for early to late phase biotech clinical research.Novotech has recently been benchmarked as a top 10 CRO among the world's leading CROs, is a finalist in the prestigious Scrip awards, and has just been awarded the Gene & Cell Therapy Excellence Award. In Asia Pacific Novotech has more than 50 Leading Site Partnership agreements with major medical research institutions which delivers exclusive benefits for sponsors.About NovotechNovotech is the leading Asia-Pacific biotech specialist CRO. Novotech has integrated labs and phase I facilities and provides drug development consulting and clinical development services across all phases. It has been instrumental in the success of approximately 4,000 clinical trials across a broad range of therapeutic areas. Novotech is well-positioned to serve biopharma clients conducting clinical trials in Asia-Pacific and the US. For more information visit https://novotech-cro.com/contactMedia ContactDavid JamesE: communications@novotech-cro.comAU: +61 2 8218 2144 USA: +1 415 951 3228Asia: +65 3159 3427 Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Philanthropic Project, Impact Women NFTs, Launches to Combat Domestic Violence in Brazil

Florianópolis, Brazil, April 1, 2022- (SEAPRWire) – Impact Women NFT, a philanthropic project displaying exquisite artworks handmade by a talented artist, has announced the launch of its NFT project. Aimed at combating domestic violence in the previously mentioned South American country, these beautifully crafted NFTs were created by renowned, talented, and award-winning illustrator Manu Cunhas. Designed by Brazilian fintech to fight the scourge of domestic violence and abuse of women, Impact Women NFT will raise funds for non-profit organizations to take a stand against women’s abuse on all levels. Current statistics show that domestic violence is at an all-time high. Brazil sits fifth in the ranking of homicides globally; one woman gets raped every eleven minutes. Five hundred and three women suffer aggression every hour, one woman gets killed every two hours, and five beatings occur every two minutes. Impact Women NFT is fighting to put an end to these crimes. Profit Shared to Non-profit Organization, Artist, and Project Producer Split into phases, the first one comprising 20 excellent, awe-inspiring, and elegantly designed artworks of remarkable and high-impact women in history, each of these NFT auctions will greatly benefit non-profit organizations. The goal of the first phase is to raise 30 ETH, ten in auction mode starting at the price of 0.15 ETH and ten in 50 units for a fixed fee of 0.05 ETH. Impact Women NFT has hand-picked eight exciting and industrious non-profits aggressively fighting violence against women in Brazil. 70% of profits garnered from these NFTs sales will be set aside for organizations, 12% to support Manu Cunhas, another 12% for Doare—the project producer and social enterprise company—and 6% for carbon credits through MOSS. The campaign will end on May 31st, 2022, and Impact Women NFT will offer rewards and surprises like special parties and airdrops in the metaverse. A project where art meets philanthropy, Impact Women NFT, will share stories of amazing women that have changed society. The founding team selects ten Brazilian and international women to show respect and admiration for the work they have put in. An Ambitious Roadmap Built on sustainability and longevity, Impact Women NFT has introduced a viable and strategic roadmap comprising detailed future events. Divided into separate phases, Impact Women NFT plans to run a decentralized autonomous organization [DAO], create and launch a native token, and a non-profit crypto fund to support organizations combating domestic violence and other forms of abuse against women. Additionally, Impact Women NFT will continue to create and release amazing, unique, well-designed, and aesthetically pleasing artworks to support life-changing non-profits. About Impact Women NFT  Impact Women NFT is a philanthropic project that displays magnificent and well-crafted artworks made by Manu Cunhas. Aimed at combating domestic violence, Impact Women NFT will fund existing non-profits championing and empowering women in the country and beyond. Social Links Twitter: https://twitter.com/impactwomen_nft  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/impactwomen.nft  Telegram: https://t.me/impactwomenNFT  Discord: https://discord.gg/QdGktzSJyg Media Contact  Project Name: Impact Women NFT Contact: Caroline Alencar, Marketing Director Email: info@impactwomen.org Website: https://impactwomen.org/ SOURCE: Impact Women NFT The article is provided by a third-party content provider. SEAPRWIRE makes no warranties or representations in connection therewith. Any questions, please contact cs@SEAPRWIRE.com Sectors: Top Story, Daily News SEAPRWIRE (www.seaprwire.com) offers newswire service in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines & Hong Kong )

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19 Women from APAC recognised with Women Icons Asia Awards 2022 at Collective for Equality Summit

Singapore, Mar 28, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Nineteen women and one corporate from the Asia Pacific were recognised at the annual Women Icons Asia Awards 2022 presented by the Singapore-based Women Icons Network (WIN). The awards were announced in conjunction with the Collective for Equality Summit hosted virtually on March 24 & 25.The Women Icons Asia Awards celebrate and honour the accomplishments and contributions of women who have excelled in different spheres of life and are an inspiration to society. This year the awards were presented across Technology, Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship and D&I Champion categories. The recipients were selected through an online nomination process, initially vetted by the WIN Research Team and then judged by an eminent jury comprising of Sherie Ng, Country Director, Singapore-Malaysia, Google Cloud; Tricia Liverpool, General Manager, Cornerstone Global Partners, Singapore; Beatrix Eder, Transformational Coach, Beatrix Eder Coaching, Singapore; Purvi Sheth, MD, Shilputsi Consultants, India; Datuk Zunaidah Idris, former Head of Dealing, Hong Leong Investment Bank, Malaysia and Dr Timothy Low, CEO, Farrer Park Hospital, Singapore.The recipients for Women Icons Asia Technology Awards are Celine Le Cotonnec, Singapore, Renugadevi K, India, Yamini Malhotra, India, Neha Agarwal, Singapore, Gnanapriya Chidambaranathan, India and Gopi Bahl, India. Winners of Women Icons Asia Finance Awards are Valerie Kok Jing Hui, Singapore, Padmaja Ruparel, India, Ruzi Ajith, Malaysia and Samantha Horton, Singapore. Women Icons Asia Entrepreneurship Award winners are Natalia Rachel, Singapore, Mel Gollan, New Zealand and Sanya Goel, India. Deepali Nair, India and Illka Gobius, Singapore are recipients of Women Icons Asia Marketing Awards. The Women Icons Asia D&I Champion Award winners are Bianca Stringuini, Singapore, Kyawt Kay Thi Win, Myanmar, Seema Chaturvedi, India and Kalaichelvi Ponnambalam, Malaysia. The team from India-headquartered global IT services major Infosys Ltd was named Women Icons Asia D&I Champion Employer.Congratulating the recipients, Vishwesh Iyer, Founder, Women Icons Network said, "It is important to recognise and cheer the strides being made by women in their professional sphere of work despite the individual and social challenges they face. This is not just an inspiration for other women but the entire society. More affirmative action is required by individuals and organisations to move the needle on workplace gender equality."The panel discussions at the Collective for Equality Summit centred around the topic "Breaking The Bias - Challenging Personal Stereotypes" and "Allyship and its Role in Pushing Boundaries on Workplace Equity". The session on Breaking the Bias was moderated by WIN founder Vishwesh Iyer, and the panelists were Malaysia based strategy, innovation and leadership consultant Dr Marcella Lucas, head of corporate sales of Google Cloud for Singapore-Malaysia, Sophie Wong and general manager of Cornerstone Global Partners, Tricia Liverpool. The session on Allyship was moderated by Singapore-based transformational coach Beatrix Eder and the panelists included CEO of India based HR management firm Shilputsi Consultants, Purvi Sheth, CEO of the Southeast Asia global PR firm Edelman, Adrian Warr and head of corporate communication and marketing for the Asia Pacific region at global logistics firm DB Schenker, Andrew Seah. Women Icons Network has been inspiring women to break the glass ceiling for more than five years by engaging in a conversation with women leaders and achievers. Women Icons Summits have been organised annually in Singapore & Malaysia since 2017. The online platform www.WomenIconsNetwork.com is focussed on precipitating the move towards gender equal places of work across the region.Women Icons Network aims to be the largest data aggregation and analysis platform across South & South East Asia integrating objective feedback from women and published data on companies to create a Diversity Metric that differentiates workplaces around Gender Equity.The Collective for Equality Summit & Women Icons Asia Awards 2022 were supported by Atlas of CTH Group as the Gold Partner, ACN Newswire (www.acnnewswire.com) as News Distribution Partner, Supporting Network Partner, Women Entrepreneur Network - Hong Kong, On Target Media & Marketing Services as Digital Media Partner and AsiaBizToday (https://asiabiztoday.com/) as Media Partner. Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Challenging Personal Stereotypes in Spotlight at Women Icons Network Collective for Equality Summit

Singapore, Mar 25, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Their gender itself is reason enough for much of the corporate world to be biased against women. However, working women face all kinds of subtle and overt biases as they navigate their way through their careers. From their age to choosing to be a mother, anything could be the basis of unconscious biases. The need to talk about, address and overcome such biases formed the basis of the discussion during the first virtual session of the Collective for Equality Summit on earlier on Thursday evening. Hosted by Singapore-based Women Icons Network (WIN) to mark the International Women's Day, the two-day summit aims to bring senior corporate leaders from Asia-Pacific on the same stage to discuss their personal experiences, the current state of the gender equality initiatives and the way forward. The topic for the first day was "Breaking The Bias - Challenging Personal Stereotypes". The session was moderated by WIN founder director Vishwesh Iyer, and the panelists were Malayasia based strategy, innovation and leadership consultant Dr Marcella Lucas, head of corporate sales of Google Cloud for Singapore-Malaysia, Sophie Wong and general manager of Cornerstone Global Partners, Tricia Liverpool. Welcoming the panelists and attendees, Vishwesh stressed the need to have such conversations all around the year, and not wait for International Women's Day to have them. He asked Sophie about her experience with personal biases and stereotypes. She remembers that when she entered the tech industry a decade ago, the awareness or conversation regarding systemic prejudices or unconscious bias was non-existent. She remembers often being told to behave and dress older than her age to gain respect of clients and colleagues. Through her career, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies in multiple domains. Over the years, she has seen the perspective of equality being at the core of an organisation develop. She is especially hopeful that the age-related biases are all but rooted out today, especially with so many startup founders being very young. Now, most organisations do not bring gender, age, religion, culture and other such factors during the hiring process. For Marcella, the one bias she has had to fight in recent years has been to fight the perception that working out of a small village on the beach does not mean that she is "beach bumming". In fact, fighting this bias has led her to put in more hours in work and be online throughout the workday. Employees who opt to work from home, especially women, are thought to give more attention to children and domestic responsibilities, even when they are equally productive Nas their other colleagues, she pointed out.As companies move towards a hybrid work environment, the idea that remote or flexible working can be equally productive needs to be reinforced, she believes. The questions that needs to be answered here is whether people really want to go back to the offices, and what kind of support they need to transition from remote working to going back to offices. Tricia feels that biases have followed her all her life. She recalls an incident where an Australian company she was working for asked not to wear a short skirt. She chose to resign the very same day. Being an expatriate for most of her career, most people thought she was a trailing partner even when she had a flourishing career. People have directly asked her how she would lead a team being an expatriate female, and a "soft" person. As a recruitment specialist, she often comes across clients who give her a specific list of traits that they are looking for in new hires. They even give specifications like the nationality and age of the candidates. She has often discouraged putting talents under such boxes. She encourages them to have a real conversation with the candidates to assess their personality and behaviours, to match the right person to their organisation. Several pertinent topics like maternity and paternity leaves, breaking personal biases, supporting working mothers, unconscious gender bias in scientific and industry data were also discussed during the summit. All panelists agreed that having such conversations more regularly would help each of us overcome our own personal biases. The winners of the Women Icons Asia Awards 2022 were also announced on the occasion.Women Icons Network has been inspiring women to break the glass ceiling for more than five years by engaging in a conversation with women leaders and achievers. Women Icons Summits have been organised annually in Singapore & Malaysia since 2017. The online platform www.WomenIconsNetwork.com is focussed on precipitating the move towards gender equal places of work across the region.Women Icons Network aims to be the largest data aggregation and analysis platform across South & South East Asia integrating objective feedback from women and published data on companies to create a Diversity Metric that differentiates workplaces around Gender Equity.The Collective for Equality Summit & Women Icons Asia Awards 2022 are being supported by Atlas of CTH Group as the Gold Partner, ACN Newswire (www.acnnewswire.com) as News Distribution Partner, Supporting Network Partner, Women Entrepreneur Network - Hong Kong, On Target Media & Marketing Services as Digital Media Partner and AsiaBizToday as Media Partner. Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Collective for Equality Summit by Women Icons Network on March 24, 25

Singapore, Mar 23, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Singapore-headquartered Women Icons Network, a cause-driven community platform working in the space of Workplace Gender Equality, will be hosting its annual Collective for Equality Summit on March 24 and 25, 2022.The virtual summit will bring together senior corporate leaders from across the Asia Pacific in discussion on their personal experiences and initiatives in improving workplace gender equity. From recognizing one's personal biases to overcoming it and then helping bring about change to stepping forward and becoming an ally - female and male - at work, the summit sessions will effectively be a masterclass on how to be the change agent.The session on March 24 will be on the topic Breaking the Bias - Challenging Personal Stereotypes. The speakers in this session are: - Sophie Wong, Head of Corporate Sales (Singapore & Malaysia), Google Cloud, - Dr Marcella Lucas, Strategy & Innovation Leadership Consultant, Malaysia, - Tricia Liverpool, General Manager, Cornerstone Global Partners, Singapore- Vishwesh Iyer, Founder, Women Icons Network.Allyship and its Role in Pushing the Boundaries on Workplace Equity will be the topic of discussion during the session on March 25 and the speakers are:- Beatrix Eder, Transformational Coach, Beatrix Eder Coaching, Singapore, - Purvi Sheth, CEO, Shilputsi Consultants, India - Andrew Seah, Head of Marketing & Communications, DB Schenker, Singapore- Adrian Warr, CEO, South East Asia, Edelman The sessions on both days will be from 4 pm - 5 pm Singapore time and will be streamed live on the LinkedIn and Facebook handles of Women Icons Network. Interested participants can register and participate in the session through the link: www.airmeet.com/e/05867c30-a610-11ec-ab11-3df7b99cdbe0.The Women Icons Asia Awards 2022 winners will also be announced at the Summit. Women from across Asia Pacific doing some commendable work in their respective professions were judged by an elite jury panel over the last couple of weeks.Women Icons Network has been inspiring women to break the glass ceiling for more than five years by engaging in a conversation with women leaders and achievers. Women Icons Summits have been organized annually in Singapore & Malaysia since 2017. The online platform www.WomenIconsNetwork.com is focused on precipitating the move towards gender-equal places of work across the region.Women Icons Network aims to be the largest data aggregation and analysis platform across South & South East Asia integrating objective feedback from women and published data on companies to create a Diversity Metric that differentiates workplaces around Gender Equity.The Collective for Equality Summit & Women Icons Asia Awards 2022 is being supported by Atlas of CTH Group as the Gold Partner, ACN Newswire (www.acnnewswire.com) as News Distribution Partner, Supporting Network Partner, Women Entrepreneur Network - Hong Kong, On Target Media & Marketing Services as Digital Media Partner and AsiaBizToday as Media Partner.For any related information contact@womeniconsnetwork.com Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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SOEs Ministry presses for more involvement of younger staff, women

JAKARTA, Feb 28, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry aims to involve more women, millennials, and Papuans either in its companies or in the ministry itself, in a bid to build a diverse, equal and sustainable leadership.SOE MInister Erick Thohir during the ministry's Girls Take Over Program (27/9/2021) (ANTARA FOTO/Dhemas Reviyanto/hp)SOEs Minister Erick Thohir will target the promotion of 10 percent of young leaders in the SOEs by 2023, or double from five percent of young leaders promoted this year.Young leadership and women's leadership is viewed as a driving force to help expedite the realization of the SOEs programs, as well as to transform the human capital."I am fully concerned about the human capital transformation, since it is the start to push the transformation in the ministry. We are changing the structures, leaderships, mindsets, and core values we own," he said.In addition, young people are blessed with outstanding intelligence and mindsets that, in nature, may function differently when they are older, according to Thohir."In terms of leadership, we know that God blesses extraordinary intelligence and mindsets to humans, but in the limited ages," he said.Hence, the Indonesian younger generation should be offered the opportunities to become leaders and take positions in SOEs that align with their competence.By 2021-end, the minister installed some young leaders under 42 years in several strategic positions, such as Soleh Ayubi, 38, who currently serves as Chief Digital Health Officer at PT Bio Farma. He formerly worked and built a career in the United States.Muhammad Fajrin Rasyid is also among the young leaders who was promoted to become a director at PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia. He formerly served as Bukalapak co-Founder and President.Productive GenerationThe ministry is pressing for young leadership, since Indonesia will reach a critical momentum from 2024-2034 when young people under 40 years will become the majority in the country.Young people will dominate and become the trendsetters in the market during the upcoming years. Currently, however, most of the Indonesian younger generation tend to be consumptive, not productive."We must change the mindsets, and how they can be productive and create the markets for Indonesian markets," Thohir noted.To this end, they need to be assisted with a supporting ecosystem that helps them to develop their ideas and create breakthroughs.Thohir spoke of his intent to build such an ecosystem, that could be very competitive among other countries.He mentioned South Korea as a country that has successfully built its pop-culture ecosystem in the past ten years, compared to the US and Japan that had led the industry.He is optimistic that Indonesia can also be the country that can build its own supporting ecosystem, as it has large infrastructures and SOEs in many areas, such as telecommunication, banking and tourism.Indonesia is also projected to become the fourth largest economy in the world. Such a prediction will not remain a dream if the young generation prepares themselves well, Thohir noted."The opportunities will not come twice. We have built toll roads, airports, seaports, and other infrastructures. In the near future, we will build digital infrastructures, such as data centers, wifi, optic fiber, 5G tower," he said.Women EmpowermentThe role of women is inseparable in SOEs, since their ideas, thoughts, initiatives, and actions contribute to the companies' advancement.Women leaders in SOEs mirror the ministry's efforts in enhancing equal leadership. They hold some strategic positions akin to president director, for instance, with President Director of PT Pertamina Nicke Widyawati, President Director of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry Ira Puspadewi, and President Director of Airnav Indonesia Polana B Pramesti.To involve more women in SOEs, the ministry incorporated with Indonesian Human Capital Forum (FHCI) and Indonesia's Plan Foundation also ran an empowerment program for young and talented women, namely the 2021 Girls Takeover.The program offers opportunities for six young women aged 20-24 years who were selected from some 7,000 candidates, to play a role as an SOE ministers or director for one day to coincide with International Daughters' Day on October 11.One of the finalists, Sharon Florencia, 24, shared her experience in taking over as SOE Minister. She acknowledged the valuable lessons she gained from Minister Thohir, especially from his leadership."During taking over as the SOE Minister, I observed the need to boost women's leadership through mentorship programs for women, as well as scholarship programs for those in eastern Indonesia who do not have equal access to education," she said.Another finalist, Adinda Zenniar, 20, who took over for Bank Mandiri President Director Darmawan Junaidi, is keen on enhancing women's capabilities in digitalization."I see that the company plays an important role in enhancing women's leadership in information and communication technology by providing training and job opportunities for young women to work in this area," she said.Young Papuans in SOEsBUMN Muda (Young SOEs), a community under FHCI, plays an active role in developing SOEs' human capital, including young talents from Papua and West Papua, to become future leaders."We focus on human capital development of the young generation nationwide, including young talents from Papua and West Papua," BUMN Muda Chairman Soleh Ayubi said.FHCI recruited 776 young Papuans by 2021-end. They were installed in 55 SOEs, reaching 77 percent of the realization from 1,000 talents targeted.The forum strives to uphold the commitment to recruiting the best Papuan talents by improving the process and the SOEs involvement to offer them more opportunities, FHCI Chairwoman Alexandra Askandar remarked.The commitment is in line with President Joko Widodo's policy to recruit 1,000 young talents from Papua and West Papua to work in SOEs across Indonesia.Reporter: Juwita Trisna Rahayu; Editor: Fardah Assegaf (c) ANTARA 2022.Photo: ANTARA FOTO/Dhemas Reviyanto/hp Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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SHEQONOMI Announces Multi-platform Partnership with Reliance Jio

St. Moritz, Switzerland, Jan 11, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - SHEQONOMI, (pronounced SHE-CONOMY) the world's first and only rewards based podcast listening mobile application on Android, JioStore, iOS, and KaiOS, proudly announces its multi-platform partnership with Reliance Jio which will incentivize 150,000,000 JioPhone users to listen, learn, and earn digital assets and rewards in the very near future. "Reliance Jio's partnership with SHEQONOMI will bring a rich collection of women-led podcasts from around the globe on our free mobile app to nearly 150,000,000 users across India, many of whom are women and girls who have never had access to global audio content like this that will also generate digital assets and rewards," said Ms. Anu Bhardwaj."Beginning with SHEQONOMI's application on JioStore for JioPhone, our partnership will bring thousands of new global podcasts and access to digital assets like NFT's and NFTrees that will scale to nearly 150,000,000 ,000,000 beneficiaries from under-resourced households across India, most of whom are first-time internet users over the course of our collaboration in 2022," stated Ms. Anu Bhardwaj, Founder of SHEQONOMI.Our aim is to provide households across India and beyond, including those who have not traditionally had access, with unprecedented opportunities to listen, learn, and earn digital rewards that not only incentivize engagement but also encourage inclusivity of voices that have not been heard before on a global scale, many of whom are women and girls. "Since we received a major COVID Innovation grant from the Islamic Development Bank nine months ago, SHEQONOMI has been going viral on KaiOS in Tanzania, Uganda, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico, and the United States. We are extremely confident that our partnership with Reliance JiO and the other startups in our cohort and previous years will lead to even greater synergies as we scale our transformational technology across India. Most importantly, our global team is humbled and honored to join this incredible group of founders, mentors, and partners driving change especially in educating youth around the globe and the impact our tech will have on future generations of our magnificent country," remarked Ms. Bhardwaj. "Our collaboration with this women-led team of world-class technologists, designers, digital architects, social media mavens, artificial intelligence and blockchain experts being led by Ms. Anu Bhardwaj will bring a rich curation of digital content including podcasts, NFTrees, and NFT artwork to hundreds of millions of homes across all of India -- especially during COVID times while setting a strong precedent for the new normal by amplifying the voices of women and girls. We are proud to have SHEQONOMI as one of our fiercest female-led startups featured in our prestigious JioDevelopers GrowthPad - Build For Bharat Cohort along with 50 of India's leading startups where they will be receiving mentoring and support to advance and scale over the next few months and beyond," a JiO spokesperson added.SHEQONOMI's digital library includes podcasts about UN Sustainable Development Goals, women and wellness (including meditation, breast cancer awareness, COVID, and mental health), gender-lens investing, global women's entrepreneurship, women climate warriors and climate change, technology, leadership, women driving change, nature and science, as well as content in Spanish and Chinese with more languages to follow including Hindi and Marathi in the very near future."Jio changed the world when they brought low-cost 4G data to millions across India. Now they're doing it again by bringing life-changing podcasts to all of INDIA, especially marginalized and underrepresented women and girls, by encouraging audio education from experts around the globe. Most importantly, we will be creating financial incentives through our digital rewards including NFTrees and NFT's that will be launching soon for JiO users that will facilitate mass adoption of digital assets at exponential levels. Please download now to listen, learn, and earn," invites Ms. Anu Bhardwaj, Founder & CEO of SHEQONOMI.About Anu Bhardwaj & SHEQONOMIFounder of SHEQONOMI, the world's first suite of mobile apps on Android, iOS, and KaiOS focused on women-led podcasts built by women and powered by girls targeting the bottom billion. 2020 Global Transform Fund- (COVID Innovation) Competition WINNERS from the Islamic Development Bank for the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, The Sultanate of Oman, The United Arab Emirates, The People's Republic of Bangladesh, and the Republic of Indonesia. SHEQONOMI was also one of 10 Global Finalists for Financial Inclusion (The Peoples Republic of Bangladesh) for the 2021 SDG Impact Accelerator hosted by the Government of Turkey, UN Technology Bank, UNDP, and other multilateral and multinational stakeholders. In March 2021, SHEQONOMI launched "Amplifying Her Voice" Global Virtual Summit Series in collaboration with The State of Women Institute, Women Investing in Women DIGITAL and 55 global women's organizations that had 3,500+ attendees, 555 global speakers. from over 125 countries, featured in 90 global newswires including Bloomberg, Thompson Reuters, Yahoo! Finance and other prominent news outlets to date. SHEQONOMI is pleased to work closely with all of our global partners including Reliance JiO, Women Investing in Women Digital and The State of Women Institute as we continue our global platform built on blockchain technology and powered by artificial intelligence. Prior to founding SHEQONOMI, Ms. Bhardwaj spearheaded Women Investing in Women DIGITAL, The State of Women Institute, and the 2010-2013 U.S. Department of Commerce Private Equity/Venture Capital Certified Trade Missions to the Nordics and Middle East, representing over $175 billion USD private-equity and venture-capital interests in collaboration with the International Trade Administration, the U.S. Embassies in the Royal Kingdoms of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman. Her client list includes top-tier global private equity, venture capital, and fund-of-funds such as Irving Place Capital, Castle Harlan, W.L. Ross, Pegasus Advisors, NEA, HBG Holdings, 2i Capital, Cubera Private Equity, Lion Capital, Walden INDIA, Novak Biddle, Alinda Capital, Top Tier Capital, Pantheon, Pathway Capital, TH Lee, and Veronis Schuler Stevenson.Her specialties include international business development for private equity professionals, women in private equity, women in philanthropy, high-growth women entrepreneurs, blockchain, digital assets and deep tech.Source: PlatoData Intelligence Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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SMEStreet Global Women Leadership Awards 2021 Successfully Conducted

NEW DELHI, Oct 25, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - SMEStreet in association with WASME has successfully organized a Forum For ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT THROUGH WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP along with SMEStreet Global Women Leadership Awards 2021. The Awards were announced along with a panel discussion over digital platforms on 22nd October 2021.The event was supported by the Ministry of MSME, Govt of India and SAVE (Society for Advancement of Village Economy). The Chief Guest of the event Shri BB Swain, Secretary of MSME Ministry, Govt of India delivered a keynote Address in which he emphasized on the important role of women entrepreneurs in shaping up our socio-economic scenario. Shri Swain congratulated the winners of SMEStreet Global Women Leadership Awards 2021 and highlighted the Government of India's schemes and programs that are aimed to deliver motivation for women-driven MSMEs. CA Dr. GP Agarwal, Secretary-General of WASME delivered a special welcome address and he spoke about the importance of motivating women in the workforce.The topic of the forum to be organized was "The Role and Impact of Women Empowerment through MSME Development" in the panel discussion the distinguished panelists such as Shri Kishwar Janaki, Ambassador of Mauritius to Moscow, Russia, Ms Sampa Banerjee, Executive Director of WASME and Secretary SAVE, Shri Amit Dua, DVP, of Axis Bank. The session was moderated by Shri Faiz Askari, Secretary-General, SMEStreet Foundation and Founder Editor of SMEStreet.Speaking at the forum, Ms. Alka Arora, Jt Secretary and CMD of NSIC, Ministry of MSME stated, "Women Empowerment is a major priority of the Government. We at MSME Ministry are working on structured motivation for women entrepreneurs and have several schemes and programs which are aimed to uplift the level of women in business."The panel discussion highlighted and discussed the aspect of 'Shaping up Entrepreneurship through Empowered Women and Women Workforce'. Ms Sampa Banerjee, Executive Director, WASME also congratulated the winners of the awards and mentioned, "Our society and socio-economic structure requires a new perspective towards empowered women. Issues such as Gender Budgeting are some topics which require detailed consideration and role of women in entire socio-economic activities must be brought up."Shri Chandan Keshwar Jankee, Ambassador of Mauritius to Moscow, emphasized the need for change in perspective towards the subject of Women Empowerment and urged that the diverse relevance of women's power for the social upliftment should be emphasized.Shri Amit Dua, DVP of Axis Bank presented his views while emphasizing the importance of giving proper acknowledgement to the women's power around us.Shri Faiz Askari, Founder of SMEStreet emphasized the need to have a fresh perspective towards the contribution of women in the workforce. The status of women in the workforce is a critical aspect of our social stability and socio-economic growth. The contributions of women in our economic and business ecosystem are very dynamic. All we need is to acknowledge their importance.Giving an overview of the SMEStreet Global Women Leadership Awards, Shri Faiz Askari stated, "The campaign of these awards started around three months ago. During this period the organizing team and editorial team of SMEStreet received nominations from over 65 countries and we have so far selected a few women leaders who can be termed as Game Changers of their own ecosystems. The nominations were kept free purposely for ensuring maximum outreach." The winners of the SMEStreet Global Women Leadership Awards 2021 are:- Ms Alka Arora, CMD NSIC, Jt. Secretary - MSME Ministry- Ms. Firdous Khan - Philanthropy and Women Empowerment- Ms Gaitree (Vanessa), Associate Professor, Academics- Dr Lulwa Al Mutlaq - Founding President, GOLDEN TRUST - Ms. Rose Mboya : Head of Intellectual Property Division at Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute, Kenya - Ms. Sabina Kamal Co-Founder of Paytm M?Loyal - H.E Denisa Gokovi , Founder & CEO at Hoinser Media Group, Albania- Mrs. Monideepa Mukherjee, Director general, Yojana Magazine, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting- Ms. Deeksha Ahuja Founder of Encubay Angel Fund -Pune- Ms. Christina A Petrakis, from Argentina & United States for Women Leadership- Ms. Lata Dagar, Founder of Shiksha Kraft- Ms. Sonal Jindal, Founder Exim Bank- Ms. Nidhi M Hola, Director Marketing, Microsoft- Ms. Pooja Khanna, Senior Medical Professional The webinar hosted over 10000 Women Leaders across the world on that day through SMEStreet.in, Digital and Social Media platforms and is expected to connect and educate over 50000 aspiring women entrepreneurs over the next few weeks through SMEStreet.in and its social media platforms. On this occasion, SMEStreet-Women Leadership Forum (Pink Power Group) is also getting formed with an aim to discuss, develop and empower entrepreneurship through Women Leaders and influence the positivity for Women @ Workforce. This will be a consortium of Women Leaders from Entrepreneurial Backgrounds. The organizing agency of this webinar is Vertical Business Media Pvt. Ltd. and SMEStreet Foundation which is the parent organization of SMEStreet.in.Facebook Link: facebook.com/smestreet.inLinkedin: linkedin.com/company/smestreetInstagram: Instagram.com/smestreet.inSMEStreet's Youtube Channel - SMEStreet ViewPoint (Youtube).www.youtube.com/c/SmestreetIn22/ Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Time to Act: Promoting Women and Youth Leadership for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

by Erick Thohir and Sharon Florencia JAKARTA, Oct 13, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – COVID-19 has had a significant impact on people’s lives, how businesses and economies operate, and the global sustainability agenda. Nevertheless, the current conditions will provide an unprecedented opportunity to build a better world by implementing more sustainable policies and actions. In addressing these, the G20 heads of state and government will convene at the Rome Summit this month to discuss various development agendas, from health and education to the economy, emphasizing trade, investments, and the digital economy. The Rome Summit is not the only significant event happening in the world in October. In the same month, International Day of the Girl (IDG) is being celebrated annually on 11 October, and this event, which intends to campaign on gender equalities, has become an important moment for us. It is a reminder for gender equality, to amplify girls’ voices meaningfully, and to support their presence and leadership. Women’s effective participation and leadership have been recognized by UN Women reports to improve productivity, enhance ecosystem conservation, and create more sustainable systems. The participation has been progressing in the last decade: an increasing number of women serving in parliament, gender budgeting policy, and equal school attendance. Despite these gains, many challenges remain at the country, region, and global level. Globally, of the 500 world-class companies, only around 5.8% (just 29 women) became CEOs in 2019, and 5.3 percent of women became board members in 2018 (Catalyst 2020). The Global Gender Gap Report in 2021 by the World Economic Forum shows that across the 156 countries covered by the index, women’s representation is only at 26.1% of some 35,500 parliament seats and just 22.6% of over 3,400 ministers worldwide. Women’s participation in Indonesia is not far behind when compared to the global levels. The McKinsey Global Institute in 2018 revealed that Indonesia could add $135 billion to its annual gross domestic product by 2025 if it can improve gender equality, the Asia-Pacific Girls Report 2021, published by Plan International, revealed that Indonesia is ranked 10th of 19 countries in the Girls Leadership Index based on six domains: education, health, economic opportunities, protection, political voice and representation, and laws and policies in the Asia Pacific. In this index, Indonesia’s position is ranked 12th in vote representation and representation of young women in politics. The progress achieved before the outburst of the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened gender equality’s situation during the pandemic. Women, mainly in the informal sector, is amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic. According to the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, women bear more burden in doing domestic chores and spend more time caring for the family than men. This potentially affects their productivity, mental health, and participation in economic and leadership positions. Responding to the situation, increasing the role of women in the Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) has been a key development agenda of the Ministry of SOEs since 2019. The Ministry of SoEs has been recognized as one of the agents of change in promoting women’s empowerment. The Ministry has set a high target of at least 15 percent of SOEs leaders being women in aggregate by the end of 2021, which is in line with the Asia average. Singapore and Italy have been in front of this by having the highest female CEOs at 15 percent. With the current figure in Indonesian SOEs at 13 percent, significant progress has been made, and the target will be increased to 25 percent in 2023. In celebrating the IDG, the Indonesian Government, through the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, has involved five major Indonesian SOEs in the #GirlsTakeover campaign starting this year and joined forces with the Plan International. A commitment to participate in the #GirlsTakeover campaign is being set for this year and the subsequent five years. This participation is not mere rhetoric, but it represents the genuine readiness and a long-term commitment to promote and involve women and young people in transforming SOEs and develop the best solution for more sustainable and inclusive development within the Ministry and 100 state-owned companies, including their subsidiaries throughout Indonesia. The #GirlsTakeover program had attracted over 7000 participants, and the outcome of the program resulted in recognizing outstanding leadership skills shown by six young women. As one of the #GirlsTakeover finalists, Sharon has had first-hand experience in being part of the high level commitment of the Ministry in promoting women leaders through mentoring, coaching and education programs for women. #GirlsTakeover is also aligned with the Ministry of SOE’s programs to develop women and youth leadership in SOEs, aiming to provide an opportunity for people under 42 to lead and transform SOEs. The target is for young leaders populating 5 percent of all SOEs’ leadership positions by 2021 and 10 percent by 2023. The Ministry facilitated the establishment of Srikandi BUMN (Women of SOEs) and BUMN Muda (Youth of SOEs) communities as strategic partners to implement measures and build support systems to meet the targets. These affirmative actions by SOEs can inspire other private companies and enterprises to support women and youth leadership for a more equal future in our nation. With a full commitment from the Indonesian Government and the business leaders for women and youth leadership, we can contribute to achieving gender equality and pre-condition for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goals 5 and 10. We believe that promoting women and youth leadership can significantly contribute to the development of a country. Next year, Indonesia will be trusted to host the G20 Summit, which will focus on three pillars: promoting productivity, increasing resilience and stability, and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth. Evidence has shown that women and men, and young people are inseparable success factors for these pillars. Indonesia cannot deliver success in those pillars by only having men and male and senior leaders. If anything, this crisis teaches us about balance, inclusiveness, and togetherness. Hence, it is important for Indonesia, as the 2022 G20 Presidency, to promote women and youth leadership for an equal world which will contribute to country development performance in gender equality and a significant improvement to global development goals and prosperity. @ErickThohir is Indonesia’s Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs)@SharonFlorencia is a future female leader who took over the Minister of SOEs’ role in the Girls Takeover 2021 campaign organized by Plan Indonesia in collaboration with the Ministry of SOEs, Srikandi BUMN and Indonesia Human Capital Forum.

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Babylon Project 2.0: World Blockchain Hackathon in the Metaverse

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Oct 8, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The World Blockchain Hackathon returns this month with Babylon Project 2.0, its second annual virtual hackathon, focusing on the decentralized web. , will be held in an interactive web-based virtual world, a metaverse experience with panels and development on CBDC, NFT, DeFI, DAO, Payments, DAPPs and Bitcoin scripts - and crowdfunding set up for the top 20 teams.The Babylon Project is a hackathon initiative committed to democratizing access to global innovation and the adoption of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. The broadest vision of the World Blockchain Hackathon is a future ecosystem in which blockchain innovation becomes the standard backbone for impenetrably secure, fast-moving, intelligent global technologies of all kinds.Last year, the hackathon attracted 1000 participants from 69 countries. The winning team, Kenyan-based fintech Kotani Pay, a technology stack enabling blockchain protocols, decentralized applications (dApps) and finTech companies integrate seamlessly, went ahead to launch their product and experienced extraordinary growth, providing on-ramp and off-ramp services on USSD in Africa.This year's virtual hackathon will be held in the metaverse for a month, with each weekend packed with workshops, panels, talks and mentorship. The goal is to increase engagement, allowing developers to have more time to learn, build and connect with sponsors and partners. Participants are encouraged to form teams. However, a single engineer can compete for prizes during the hackathon. The title's sponsors, open-source protocol both IPFS and Filecoin, continue to show their deep commitment to nurturing hacker communities by rewarding participants' interest and contributions with attractive prizes. Filecoin's advanced technology provides a robust foundation to store the world's most valuable data sets. An alternative to costly cloud storage.Babylon Project 2.0 is a community-based initiative and made possible by sponsors and partners such as Protocol Labs (Filecoin & IPFS), DIBA, NEAR, Metis, Ozone Universe, Ascended, BitMart and BitMask. Other partners include Alchemy, Investinu Group, Blockchain Council, PIABO PR, Waterdrip Capital, Crypto Chicks, Women in Blockchain Talks, Women Who Code Blockchain, Blockchain Acceleration Foundation, Blockchain Founders Fund, WEVE Acceleration, Qubic Labs, Flat 6 Labs, B4H, Blockchain by Women, and Kerala Blockchain Academy.Dates: 29 October - 20 November, 2021Apply: https://worldblockchainhackathon.com Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Women’s review: Engaging men and those on the margins necessary to achieve true equality

SINGAPORE - While the focus of the national review was on women, there had been repeated calls for men to also join in the conversations. Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam had said that he hoped more men would participate because the push to level the playing field for women is an issue for society, and every man has a serious role to play. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

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Women’s review: Empowering women to make choices, and enabling those decisions, is key

SINGAPORE - When a panellist at a conference on equality for women in June said that she once overheard a man lamenting the hiring of a woman who was "so prolific at having children", her anecdote drew both outrage and surprise. It has been more than 50 years since the People's Action Party (PAP) government aggressively promoted gender equality to boost the economy, and women now make up 41.76 per cent of the workforce. But such "locker room talk" is not unusual, said Dr Juliana Chan, chief executive of Wildtype Media Group at the Institute of Policy Studies' Women's Conference. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

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