Around the world – from small grassroots gatherings and local celebrations, through to largescale events and press conferences – people everywhere are delivering exciting and engaging speeches and presentations to reinforce the fact that everyone has a role to play in forging a more gender-balanced world.

In more recent years, given that men as advocates and champions of change have been recognized as playing a key part in accelerating women equality, we take a closer look at how the culture at Moore Stephens and Complete Corporate Services (CCS), provides an environment where womens’ equality is made possible.

We collaborated with Moore Stephens and gathered some of the women in both offices to find out more about what International Women’s Day means to them. The coffee chat of personal thoughts and shared experiences closed off with a mini question and answer as a feature for what we thought might shed some inspiration for other women.

Law Pei Serh

 

Unless there is urgent client case or other urgent office work to be attended to that morning, you will find me chillaxing over breakfast with my family after my weekly cycling trip that starts at 6.30 am from East Coast Park to Marina Bay Gardens East to Marina Bay Sands to Merlion Park and back!

Shirley Lim

 

Work life balance is all about how you manage and prioritise your time at work. At the same time, it is important to include family commitments such as birthdays, anniversaries and holidays as well as making exercise a must-do. A healthy body means a fresh mind which means you will function better and complete tasks in less time.

Michelle Chong

 

Modern women are generally now more independent, strong and academically equipped compared to the past. We see women occupying key positions in the organisations and some outperform the men. In order to achieve this, I feel that perseverance, determination, resilience and sacrifices are the key factors in contributing to a successful career. Adequate support from the family and organisation is also important to maintain a work-life balance lifestyle. I always remind myself to put in my best efforts to complete my tasks and it’s a “no pain, no gain” effort. At the end of the day, we work hard, we also play hard!

Selsila Mohd Selamat

 

Firstly, I strongly believe in the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”. It is important to have a good support system at home so that you have a peace of mind when you are at work. With that, I am able to focus 100% on my work when I am in the office. Secondly, it is not about the amount of time that I spend time with my girls, it is the quality time spent that matters. Bedtime stories, family dinners and most of my weekends are filled with activities that mostly evolves around my girls.

 

There are definitely sacrifices, I took an 18 months break to focus on being a new mom after I had my first daughter. It was a fulfilling experience but I wanted more so I went back to work on a part-time basis before transitioning back to a full-time role after 6 months. Personally, I have also put my plans to broaden my horizons by going back to school on the back burner.

Daphne Aw

 

Indra Nooyi.

 

A few years ago, I read an article on the previous PepsiCo CEO. I was amused by the story she told – Indra’s parents were visiting. The night she was named President of PepsiCo, she came home and told her mother “I’ve got great news for you.” Her mother replied “It can wait. We need you to go out and get some milk.” Indra begrudgingly went out to get milk but when she came home, she was hopping mad. She said “I had great news for you. I’ve just been named President of PepsiCo. And all you want me to do is go out and get milk.” Her mother next said “You may be President of PepsiCo. But when you step into this house, you’re a wife and mother first. Nobody can take that place. So leave that damn crown in the garage.”

 

While the story made me laugh at the time, I now understand the challenges that exist for all working women. The role of juggling family and a career is extremely tricky. My career is important to me and I spend a lot of time with my clients, colleagues, partners and directors of the firm in my daily life. Although I do not have children at the moment, it is heartening to see that Moore Stephens is very supportive of working mothers. In fact, we have a number of partners and directors who are working mothers themselves!

 

I also admire Indra’s strive for excellence. She was PepsiCo’s first female CEO and the results speak for themselves. During her tenure, she boosted revenues by 80%. She is a great example of female leadership and diversity in a predominantly male environment. It is encouraging to see female representation on a company’s board and in the case of PepsiCo, a female at the helm.

 

I am inspired by Indra that it is possible to have it all – a rewarding career and a fulfilling family life!

Lao Mei Leng

 

Be yourself, be fearless, be a nice mix of silk and steel.