Women rising in high-tech world

Seasoned and startup.

According to a few of Southeast Asia’s power women, it is the healthy mix of these two kinds of entrepreneurs which could increase the number of women in business across the region.

“Startups are the best [kind of entrepreneurs] for new industries, because they work leaner, they work faster, and they have the technology. But what about the more seasoned entrepreneurs? Startups must go to them to be taken as mentees. It’s not about just hand-holding, it’s not about leading, but sticking together,” said Nadira Yusoff, CEO of Malaysian IT company Nadi-Ayu Technologies, who spoke about career opportunities for women in the technology space at the recently held “STEAM Ahead in Asean: A Forum on Women and Technology.”

The two-day forum held in Pasay City, which gathered women business leaders from all over Southeast Asia, was spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Asean Women Entrepreneur Network (Awen). It tackled topics such as Tech-Powered Women, Social Media for Entrepreneurs, Apps and Platforms for and by Women, and Tech Tools for Entrepreneurs—with the aim of encouraging more women to pursue careers in the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) fields.

“With the advent of advanced technologies and various disruptive business models, we now look forward to the rise of a new economy— the digital economy. In fact, as the Philippines hosts the Asean Summit this year, we reiterate what we would like to champion: An inclusive, innovation-driven economy,” said Trade Undersecretary Nora Terrado. “Women are partners for growth and are equally important as men in terms of advancing our economies. As technology further allows women to work while they remain to be the light of their homes for their families, the more that we need to urge young girls of today to seek the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.”

One way to do so would be to have more established entrepreneurs collaborate with younger ones, said Yusoff, by investing in them.

“That’s how you grow. Globally, big businesses are also getting ‘smaller’ now. Why? No. 1, because it’s leaner, faster; No. 2, the talents are switching faster,” she added. “Whether you like it or not, new businesses are going to be created. So how do we seasoned entrepreneurs create new [businesses]? By collaborating with these young entrepreneurs. We have the skills and the network, and they have the speed and agility. I think it makes a great marriage.”

First and foremost, however, businesses should recognize that there is a “gender gap” in the tech industry, and address this by “enabling diversity” in the workplace and among entrepreneurs to truly increase women’s representation in STEAM fields, said Awen co-chair Ma. Aurora Geotina-Garcia.

“Diversity is not only a social imperative but a competitive advantage for companies and institutions,” said Garcia, “In the Asean, the focus on the women’s agenda has been more on the sociocultural and less on the economic aspect. What we’re trying to do [through dialogue] is to push for economic empowerment of women. Let’s work on finding what is causing women to not have as much participation in the tech and digital space.” —ANNELLE TAYAO-JUEGO