In the same report, too, it is disheartening to note that the percentage of women across all tech-related careers has decreased over the last two years. Beyond just gender holding women back in tech, a study by McKinsey showed that other elements of their identities, including ethnicity (Asians, for example) and disability, have added more barriers for women to advance in tech industries. This issue may appear systemic; although achieving greater gender equality would require a shift in mindset, corporate policies and culture, and mentorship opportunities for women. The change also needs to start from bottom-up, with greater access to education and training opportunities for girls and women.
As someone who has been in the tech sector for the past 32 years, holding senior leadership roles in the management team from software and services and mostly at the vendors/providers’ end, it might be worth nothing that I hadn’t always been exposed to technology, growing up. But my penchant for entrepreneurship led me down this involvement with the ICT industry, allowing me to do creative selling and bringing my journey full circle with the entrepreneurial mindset that I always had.
This is my story…
Starting out
As someone who came from humble beginnings from a small town in the northern part of Malaysia, I wasn’t exposed to technology or gadgets during my younger days. My family could not even afford a television and fridge until I was about 13. Yet, I was more inspired by entrepreneurship values growing up and always dreamed of the possibility of financial independence and world discovery through wealth creation. When I got to enter the ICT world with some of the largest multinational companies, I saw opportunities that were presented for me to lead the business with impact and influence.
During my early career days, it was perceived as very “cool” to work for a telco company in the 90s, especially when the local Malaysian telecommunications industry had gone through deregulation that made the entry of cellular business phenomenal. However, I switched from telco to a technology sector after witnessing my peers and colleagues taking home higher pay checks with attractive offer packages in the ICT space. While the monetary reward was appealing, I have always been amazed by the speed of tech innovation with a clear focus on execution for growth.
Landscape over the years
From my perspective, there have certainly been positive changes in the tech landscape over the 30-plus years from when I first started out, particularly in Asia. We note that there is an increased acceptance of women in tech; in fact, we have witnessed the ins-and-outs of female participation at the regional leadership level. But at a macro level, the stereotyping of women leadership persists by and large, not only in the tech sector, but in other industries, too. People often make comparisons regarding the different leadership styles between males and females, and many organizations perpetuate the mindset that male leaders are regarded as more strategic and savvy in management with board-level networking and can command a large team – which does not necessarily ring true based on my past experiences.
I have learned that as you move higher in the corporate hierarchy, it is not the results alone that matter but also the performance of the leader. This is why I’m grateful to have mentors and coaches who have helped me to increase my leadership performance and overcome the “expectation barriers” over the years. In markets like Malaysia, merit may carry some weight, but it’s the extensive networking that would open doors faster for someone, since most high-level leadership roles are by recommendations, associations and who you know in the organization – rather than by recruitment basis. When it comes to networking, it is honestly a continuous work in progress for female leaders, since we often put such opportunities on the backburner, particularly for those who carry dual roles as home caretakers, too.
The Orange Business ecosystem
It is commendable of course that Orange Business intends to increase its diversity representation from currently 29.7% of female employees to 33% by 2025 (as conveyed by Orange Business Head of Human Resources and Employee Experience, Laurent Aufils, in his 2023 blog: Women in tech: the campaign for digital inclusion – which is in fact, higher than the aggregate percentage of the global 2023 statistics (26.7%) of females holding tech-related roles. Given that females make up 27% of Orange Business managers and with 30% being execs, this is an encouraging sign of an inclusive and progressive culture where females get to become leaders in a technology company. Indeed, both of our CEOs for the Orange Group and Orange Business are female leaders who were appointed in 2022.
In fact, it’s also refreshing to hear of the Orange Business Hello Women program that aims to improve gender diversity in tech and digital roles – from raising awareness among young girls and students to providing retraining opportunities for females in this profession.
At the end of the day, it is up to women to carry themselves as professionals like anyone else, for whichever industry that they join. I’m attracted to talents who exhibit good and clear communication, ask smart questions to uncover opportunities and challenges, who are effective in simplifying their thoughts with examples or evidence, and can carry themselves confidently – all of which are non-gender traits.
Enabling gender balance and removing gender bias across the tech industry and other spheres can only amount to higher organizational performance and innovation, driving versatility with decision-making and thought processes that create value for customers and other stakeholders. While some challenges may still hold us back, I believe that if there is a greater will to bring about collective action involving all parties concerned, we can surely advance the agenda of attracting and retaining more female talents within our industry.
Haniza Zakariya is the Country Lead for Malaysia at Orange Business. She covers a range of sales leadership portfolios in top notch global tech companies, specializing in the enterprise and public sectors in Malaysia and Brunei. In leading the country’s sales business for Orange Business Malaysia, Haniza drives the transformational model to build a high-performing sales culture through mindset change and high accountability. In her spare time, she loves keeping herself busy with golfing, jogging and traveling.