Give women the right opportunities then watch them soar

I just learned a new word - ‘Mottainai’- which means 'wasteful' in Japanese, and it conveys a sense of regret over something valuable going to waste. That pretty much sums up how I feel when I see the current workplace situation. It is ‘wasteful’ because the global shortage of talent and skills gaps is real and yet, we are not fully including a ready pool of talent (women) to close those gaps.

Much has been said about businesses needing to be more inclusive and diverse. Much has also been discussed about the value and importance of women to the workforce. Yet, according to LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2020, women in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region still feel that they lag behind compared to men - but are eager to contribute their talents. In fact, women think that they need equal access to opportunities, as well as more government assistance and even special schemes to get ahead in life.

Women face more barriers than men, especially working mothers. Across APAC, women feel they face greater barriers to opportunities than men - specifically, lack of work experience (11% men vs. 15% women), confidence and support, as well as fear of failure (13% men vs. 16% women). In particular, working mothers struggle with too many family commitments and lack of support (10% working fathers vs. 14% working mothers).

 I understand these sentiments all too well. Being a working mother to three beautiful children myself, I know what it is like for women to feel like they need to get it together and be a superwoman on all fronts to be successful. At the same time, I feel very fortunate to have been given so many opportunities throughout my career, and to have had the full support from my family all this time.

Working mothers are disrupting the economy

 A new trend is also emerging among working mothers in APAC - forming a large part of the freelance economy (52%), predominantly driven by India (88%), Indonesia (48%) and China (48%).

For example, Sheetal Sharma, Director at Supreme Support Consultants in India, who started freelancing as a Public Relations professional when she moved cities after her marriage. After struggling to find an equivalent job in the new city, a client gave her a head start by leading public relations for his businesses on a freelance basis. As a returning working mother, her story is truly inspiring as she shared, “I realised you don't necessarily need a big company to give you a job. You can create opportunities for yourself. Now, I run my own PR agency in Delhi.”

Big miss for businesses who don’t look to hire more women

 I am very heartened that many individuals, businesses and policy makers have stepped up to give women and returning mothers fair opportunities in recent years. I was recently involved in the launch of SG Women in Tech, a community movement and LinkedIn is one of the founding members – aimed at attracting, retaining and developing women’s tech talent in Singapore. Personally, this movement resonates strongly with me as I did not start my career in a tech company, but had the support of my professional communities who helped me ease into my roles. In a similar way, our Index shows that being able to do what you love (14%) is among the top three opportunities that women look for. It’s been such an inspiring journey connecting with both women (and men!) who are passionate about developing tech talent.

 At LinkedIn, we are also very intentional in our efforts to create a diverse and inclusive workforce by designing programmes that create communities that feel belonged, attract the best talent, and expand professional skills for various groups, including women and mothers. For instance. I still feel that we do not have enough women leaders at the top – hence my team and I started a programme, EmpowerIn, to help our company develop and nurture our future women leaders through workshops on how women can find their voice and own their presence in the company, as well as group mentoring to support their transformation.

 It’s truly a win-win formula when we have a diverse workforce – gender diversity being one of them. I’m convinced that our edge as women leaders is in our soft skills – our multi-tasking abilities are often tested, and I’ve learnt to be more adaptable and flexible managing complex situations over the years. These are skills that are much needed in today’s changing landscape.

 The business case is clear. Women and working mothers can play a much bigger role in contributing to the economy. It is often perceived that being a mother could be a hindrance to success and opportunities at work. However, this has only encouraged me to work harder and be more productive because my priority is to ensure that my family gets the best life possible. We work hard so that we can have the life we aspire to achieve. As a working mother, I also realize that every moment counts so I don’t waste time in whatever I do.

 What else can we do as leaders (women and men alike) to make this happen? Share with us your thoughts on LinkedIn, and let’s make this a decade of change. #IWD2020 #InItTogether #ConnectToOpportunity