For the very first time, the UK movement celebrating and nurturing the pipeline of female talent, The Women of the Future Programme will launch The Women of the Future South East Asia Awards. Nominations open 31 July online at http://awards.womenofthefuture.co.uk/seasia/
Founded over a decade ago in the UK by Pinky Lilani CBE DL, and proudly supported by headline sponsor Aviva, the awards are aimed at recognising the inspirational young female stars of today and tomorrow. They are open to women aged 35 or under and celebrate talent across seven categories including business, culture, media, technology, community and more.
The categories for the inaugural Awards are:
• Professions & Business
• Entrepreneur
• Arts and Culture
• Community & Public Service
• Property, Construction & Infrastructure
• Media & Communications
• Science, Technology and Digital
Pinky Lilani CBE DL, Founder, Women of the Future (WOF) Programme said: “When we created the Women of the Future Awards in 2006, it was always my dream to bring it to Asia. Over the years, we have built a remarkable, informal community of influential women determined not only to build professional and personal relationships with one another, but to be advocates for an exciting new generation of business leadership talent. It is now time to celebrate the diverse spirit of young women and their achievements in shaping the future of Asia.”
Chris Wei, Executive Chairman, Asia & FPI and Global Chairman, Aviva Digital, said, “Aviva strongly believes in diversity. An inclusive workforce which reflects society and our customers isn’t just right, it’s good common sense. Women bring a unique perspective to the business, and we are proud to support the inaugural Women of the Future South East Asia Awards. Through this event, we seek to recognise, celebrate and nurture talented women in the region who have made a difference in their respective fields, and will continue to inspire and play key roles in spearheading further change.”
Commenting on the recent Annual Talent Shortage Survey by the ManPower Group indicating talent shortages are more widespread in Asia than in any other region, Lilani says, “Women as a demographic group represent an extremely large untapped resource. We believe that the WOF programme can encourage, motivate and provide role models to inspire and strengthen the female talent pipeline, and as a result ease the challenges caused by the talent shortage in Asia.”
Furthermore, the proportion of women at board level is strikingly low when compared to US and Europe. In Asia, women account for 6% of board positions compared to 17% and 15% in US and Europe respectively.
Lilani adds, “Our panel of judges is looking for significant and ground-breaking achievements to date, where the individual has made a distinctive and innovative contribution in their field; and very importantly has the ability and willingness to act as a role model to others.”
Shortlisted candidates of each category will gain access to many different opportunities, including the WOF network- a global and collaborative network of women who support and inspire each other to further professional and personal success.
Candidates must be aged 35 or under on 20 March 2018, and must be citizens and residents of one of the following countries:
• Brunei
• Cambodia
• Indonesia
• Laos
• Malaysia
• Myanmar
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Vietnam
Women of the Future (“WOF”) Programme is a portfolio of events and projects that support and celebrate the successes of women through the WOF Awards, WOF Summit, WOF Ambassadors and WOF Network. WOF was founded in 2006 by Pinky Lilani CBE DL and Cherie Blair CBE is Awards patron.
WOF is a movement focused on kindness and collaboration in the workplace, galvanising a community of influential women to work together as a new generation of talent across business, media, culture and public service.
Source: Media Release
