MDEC & MICROSOFT OPENS WOMEN’S FORUM ON “NURTURING ENTREPRENEURSHIP & LEADERSHIP FOR WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY” AT TECH.ED SEA 2008

Kuala Lumpur, August 12, 2008 – The annual “Women in Technology” event at Tech.Ed SEA 2008 hosted over 160 participants, some of who were attendees of the inaugural women’s event held last year. This year’s event was co-hosted by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), Microsoft Malaysia together with Gorgeous Geeks, a group of women volunteers from the IT industry who provide mentorship and inspiration to other women to join the industry.

The event kicked-off with a welcome address by President of Gorgeous Geeks, Alecia Heng, who shared that “an impressive 40% of the attendees of Tech.Ed SEA 2008 were women and the forum was specially engineered for women who are interested in starting a career in IT”. With about 70,000 IT professionals nationwide out of which 30% are women, the session works to offer avenues for women to play a bigger part.

(From L – R)
Alecia Heng, President, Gorgeous Geeks
Yohani Yusof, Head of Corporate Communications, DiGi Telecommunications
Suriza Hing Abdullah, Founder and Managing Director, Crystal Edge Sdn Bhd
Nuraizah Shamsul Baharin, ICT Bureau, Woman Entrepreneur Network (WENA)
Yasmin Mahmood, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia
Ng Wan Peng, Vice President, MDeC

The forum was moderated by Vice President of MDeC, Ng Wan Peng and driven by four prominent women in the technology field – Yasmin Mahmood, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia; Nuraizah Shamsul Baharin, ICT Bureau, Woman Entrepreneur Network (WENA), Yohani Yusof, Head of Corporate Communications, DiGi and Suriza Hing Abdullah, Founder and Managing Director, Crystal Edge Sdn Bhd.

The forum, compared to the previous year’s open dialogue, focused on imminent issues that look at encouraging entrepreneurship and leadership amongst women. Yasmin, who has been Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia for two years, commented, “The success of last year’s forum resulted in the creation of Gorgeous Geeks”. She also added that “Microsoft is a company that has a strong agenda for women in the workplace”.

During the event, the panelists shared many insights on leadership, entrepreneurship and the avenues of growth that could lead to rewarding and fulfilling careers. On combating challenges to be faced, Nuraizah an entrepreneur in the IT line, spoke on the importance of networking groups where members share advice and experiences. Yohani who has been in the IT industry for 21 years, further supported with “whether you’re an entrepreneur or working for a corporation, there is a need to network”.

Further to networking, programs that can help women develop their careers were also mentioned, Ng highlighted that one of MDeC’s initiatives, the MSC Malaysia Capability Development Programme said that “it was specifically designed to suit the needs of the local ICT industry to raise standards of MSC in Malaysia as the ICT hub and we strongly believe that women will benefit from the program”. The MDeC program aids companies in way of financial assistance, education & awareness to maximize their potential in adopting global best practices and process improvement frameworks.

On a personal level, the panelists advised the potential women leaders on the importance of work-life balance and the challenges of managing expectations in the workplace as an entrepreneur and a leader. “Maintaining a positive mindset is key, especially when you face obstacles”, Suraiza added.

The session concluded with words of advice for the participants as each panelist highlighted avenues of women’s growth in the fast growing IT industry in Malaysia. Yasmin shared that “wherever you are, there is a lot of richness that comes from women, and a lot of efforts bringing women into the workforce because women help contribute diversity in the country’s workforce”.

Participant Christy Lee, an Investment Manager with Mavcap, commented, “I am very glad that we finally have a group such as Gorgeous Geeks, and to see support coming not only from the government but also from corporate citizens like Microsoft Malaysia. There is definitely a lack of such avenues for women in the IT industry in this part of the world, an avenue that allows them to come together to share experiences and empower each other. Such a platform is definitely needed especially right now when not just the environment but also the roles that women play in the IT industry are changing.”

Panelists of the forum included:
Yasmin Mahmood, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia
Nuraizah Shamsul Baharin, ICT Bureau, Woman Entrepreneur Network (WENA)
Yohani Yusof, Head of Corporate Communications, DiGi Telecommunications
Suriza Hing Abdullah, Founder and Managing Director, Crystal Edge Sdn Bhd
Tech.Ed SEA 2008, Microsoft’s premier and largest annual technology conference opened its doors to more than 3,000 technopreneurs, IT administrators, software developers, and software architects from throughout the region on Monday August 11, 2008. The conference spans from August 11-14, 2008 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.