Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Asia I lie Forum's Women in Business forum, concluded yesterday with mixed responses regarding the existence of "glass ceiling" in Brunei, which prevents women from reaching top-ranked positions either in government or private sectors.

More women are expected to join the local workforce in higher-ranked positions, as there is an upward trend of female university graduates compared to male graduates, said Hjh Fa'aizah POKSMDSP Hj Abidin, managing director of Brunei Investment and Commercial Bank, one of the panelists.

Latest statistics in 2006 showed that there are 2,558 female graduates, as opposed to 1,154 male graduates in local tertiary institutions, according to figures from the Ministry of Education,

According to Hjh Fa'aizah "women are equally competitive with men", and technical areas of

work are still dominated by males, but there are more women in the areas of human resources and sales.

Furthermore, local female entrepreneurs own or rim almost 50 per cent of all micro and small medium enterprises last year, said Pg Hjh Mariana PDNLDR Pg Hjh Abdul Momin, deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, in her remarks.

"There is a glass ceiling out there, we are in denial if we say there isn't, because we have to be more determined and we have to prove ourselves everyday," said another panelist, Haslina Taib, during the first forum session on "Women in Charge: Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling".

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BAG Networks said that there are less than 20 per cent of women holding the chief executive position, and about 30 per cent reaching the vice-president level across the world. "This shows how sticky the ladder is to climb into the CEO position," said Haslina, who has held top positions in management, audit, IT implementation, as well as real estate during her 20 years of experience and is a mother of two.

She said that inclusion of both men and women in work and other priorities are important for both parties to succeed.

"Women should start being practical, polish their communication skills, take greater responsibilities, focus oil (building) relationships and bridge the gap of the maternal wall," she added.

TV personality Pauli Ma hi Ali said that she faced some problems when she first joined ESPN as an anchorwoman, be cause the sporting world dominated by males. "It's thy survival of the fittest in show business," she said, adding that women have to create their own niche in a male-oriented area.

Another panelist, Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) Asset Director Hjh Rosmawatty Hj Abd Mumin, suggested the introduction of flexible working hours, which is practiced in other countries. She added that there is no gender bias at BSP, as the organization always focus on a performance-based culture.

The Women in Business forum, themed "Empowering Women, Empowering Society", took place at the Empire Hotel and Country Club. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times