Unscripted, Raw, and Empowering: Lessons from On The Rise’s Female Financial Empowerment Summit
It’s 2024, yet we live in a reality where women in Malaysia still earn less than men? Analysis by the 2023 Malaysia Gender Gap Index revealed that women in Malaysia only earn RM66 to a man’s RM100—meaning women with the same experience earn a third less than men in a comparative role.
Most women in the workplace find themselves hesitant to assert their worth by asking for pay increments, promotions, or even performance evaluations. While it may be tempting to believe that female entrepreneurs and female CEOs are exempt from such challenges, we learned from the horse’s mouth that the reality is quite the contrary.
The Female Financial Empowerment Summit, organised by On The Rise, set out to demystify finance and funding for women by empowering women with financial knowledge and resources to enhance financial literacy and help female entrepreneurs grow their business. The summit also gave participants the opportunity to connect with like-minded women—all while keeping things real and raw.
The stellar women of Content Nation were lucky enough to get tickets to this inaugural event, and while we can’t possibly cover everything we learned in one blog, here are our top three takeaways:
Be Brave: Don’t Let the Glass Ceiling Limit Your Capabilities!
If you’ve been in the workforce for a while now, you will have definitely heard of the term “glass ceiling”. But if you’re anything like me—a relatively young female employee—then this might be new to you.
To put it simply, the term “glass ceiling” refers to an invisible barrier that stops women and other marginalised groups from reaching the top levels of their careers, despite possessing all the skills and qualifications needed. It is an ugly term that is the product of bias and discrimination that limits people’s opportunities to advance.
In the panel discussion titled ‘Female Leaders Redefining Financial Success’, Raja Teh Maimunah, CEO of AEON Bank, spoke on this and her experiences in dealing with the “glass ceiling” throughout her career. Despite the hardships she faced, she firmly believes in avoiding the use of this term when raising the next generation as she worries it could limit their potential, making them think that they can only go so far.
Alongside Raja Teh was Kho Min-Jee, CEO of Naelofar and Luna Jewellery, Anne Abraham, CEO and Chairperson of LeadWomen, and Michelle Iking, founder of Clarion Quest Consulting. Throughout this session, these inspiring leaders shared stories of how they approached certain challenges, urging us—the audience—to be brave in our financial endeavours and demand for gender equality.
Ask for that promotion, voice out when something doesn’t sit right with you, and most importantly, break through the “glass ceiling”. After all, it only takes one move to shatter it.
Be Confident: You Can Thrive As A #GirlBoss, #Mother, and #Sister At The Same Time
A common theme seen throughout the summit was that many of the speakers were often overlooked and not considered for promotions due to motherhood and their innate nurturing qualities. This unfortunate stereotype has led to the misconception that women are unsuitable for leadership positions due to being perceived as ‘too emotional’ or ‘overly empathetic’.
Well, that misconception was certainly shattered at this summit! Nearly every speaker was a mother, skillfully balancing both household responsibilities and thriving businesses. Chris Edwards, founder of Honeycombers and Launchpad, delivered her insightful keynote address that delved into this very topic.
For a little bit of context, Honeycombers is a lifestyle website that shares recommendations on food, travel, wellness, fashion, and events for people in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bali.
In her session, Chris shared her motivations to become an entrepreneur, detailing how she relocated from her home country to expand her business while simultaneously raising her three young children—a true testament to women empowerment!
She spoke about how she was initially afraid to launch Honeycombers as she wasn’t a Singaporean herself. She thought, “Who am I to be giving advice to Singaporeans as a foreigner?”. Luckily for travellers everywhere, she snapped out of it, built up her confidence, and launched Honeycombers in an era where some people were still using dial-up internet—that definitely needed some confidence!
Her story is one that is both inspirational and relatable, proving how female entrepreneurs can achieve financial freedom while still raising their families.
Be Dedicated: Every Bump In The Road Is Just One Step Closer to Financial Freedom
We already know that women have to work twice as hard to achieve recognition in the workplace, but let’s reframe this reality, positively. Having to double our efforts proves that women are more resilient, and with resilience often comes success.
In fact, Nadira Yusoff, founder and CEO of on-demand babysitting platform KiddoCare, struggled to get funding as some investors were not convinced that her business would be impactful or profitable. In the panel discussion ‘Everything You Need to Know About First Time Funding’, hosted by pitchIN, Nadira shared how her business model was scrutinised to the point that she blindly accepted an offer from a venture capitalist (VC) without fully understanding the term sheet.
Pro tip from Nadira: Make sure to thoroughly read and understand the term sheet when seeking investments from VCs.
Despite not being given the best financial support, Nadira never gave up and continued to preserve through all her struggles. Today, she runs a business that has successfully served well over 50,000 families, keeping more than 90,000 children safe, all while empowering over 13,000 women with job opportunities.
In essence, dedication acts as the seed from which financial success blossoms. If we continue to nurture that seed, we can achieve financial freedom—regardless of our role as an entrepreneur, manager, or team member. If you remain dedicated to the work you do, it will inevitably lead to fruition of a successful financial journey.
Time to Rise Up Corporate Girlies!
At the end of the day, financial empowerment means different things to different people. For some, financial empowerment could mean getting a promotion and scaling the corporate ladder, while for others, it could mean having the ability to grow your business without worrying about financial repercussions. It could also mean being able to afford better education and opportunities for your children—or all three of these things!
Regardless of what financial empowerment means to you, it’s important to have a strong support system backing you up.
For us at Content Nation, this means having the freedom and confidence to have real conversations with our team leads and managers. As a content writer myself, both Content Nation and this summit have empowered me to:
- Go after what I want in life
- Be open and confident in communication
- Have the courage to acknowledge and seek help with my financial struggles
- Stand up against things that don’t feel right to me
- Rely on the support of a great team
So, if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, let us help you out with all your marketing needs!
