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Flexible work isn’t the fix: Women in tech still facing caregiving penalties

Women in Digital’s Annual Report reveals many women are being slowed down mid-career – often when they start families – despite more flexibility There is a growing disconnect between workplace flexibility and career progression for women working in the tech sector, Women in Digital’s (WiD) 2025 Report: Driving Change in Tech report (the report) has found. According to the report, while 77% of tech employers offer flexible work arrangements, just under 50% of women working in tech still believe having children hinders their careers. This tension is becoming harder to ignore, as the gap between workplace policies and everyday realities continues to widen. The report found 34% of respondents believed school hours had negatively affected their careers, a rise from 29% in 2024. This suggests that while flexibility looks good on paper, how it is defined needs to be broadened beyond hours spent in the office. WiD CEO and founder Holly Hunt said while it was great to see progress on flexibility, work still needs to be done to shift deep-seated structural and cultural norms. “Flexibility is now widely embraced, and that’s a win for everyone in tech. However, there is a lingering culture of presenteeism, where visibility and after-hours engagement are still seen as prerequisites for advancement, which disproportionately disadvantages caregivers,” Ms Hunt said. “The motherhood penalty hasn’t gone away, it’s just changed shape. This isn’t about women lacking confidence, it’s about the systems and cultures that still hinder progression. The report also found Only 40% of hybrid employees and 33% of remote employees agree they are encouraged to apply for senior or executive roles, compared to 56% of on-site employees. Tesla Chair and Tech Council of Australia (TCA) Board Member Robyn Denholm said diversity is not a “nice-to-have”—it’s fundamental to building a high-performing tech sector and achieving the Australian government’s […]

Leading from the inside out: Why clarity, impact and focus matter more than ever

-Deb Bailey, Coach, Facilitator, Speaker, Author When I stepped away from my global executive role at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do next, only that I didn’t want more of the same. I created space by completing an MBA, and by the end of my studies, I knew I wanted to start my own Leadership Practice. I’ve always been passionate about creating a world of work where people know how they contribute and feel genuinely valued. That led me to focus my Practice on leadership impact, building and sustaining high-performance teams, and helping organisations bridge strategy to execution. My approach is based on the belief that leadership must be measurable, just like other parts of the business whether it’s finance, projects, customer satisfaction etc. When we understand our inner game of leadership our strengths, blind spots, motives, and values, we improve our outer game: team outcomes, strategic results, leadership impact, and culture. Measurement brings insight; insight enables action; action drives results. One of the biggest challenges I see today is what I call the “Busy Olympics.” The world of work has become fast, demanding, and always-on. Technology was supposed to make things easier, but often it just means we’re available 24/7. There’s an unspoken competition to be the busiest, but all this busyness is eroding clarity. And without clarity, it’s hard to prioritise what matters most, at work or in life. Clarity takes courage and discipline. It means being willing to ask the big questions: Where am I going? What am I here to do? What matters most right now? When we have that clarity, we’re able to say ‘no’ to the noise and distractions and yes to the things that make the biggest difference. I believe business success is fundamentally about the quality of its leadership. […]

Operationalising AI for manufacturing in ASEAN

Karen Kim, CEO Human Managed While the hype around Gen-AI will shift to the buzz around agentic-AI in 2025, traditional sectors such as manufacturing will still be coming to terms on deploying AI strategies to become participants of Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This is the next phase where disruptive trends including data, connectivity, analytics, robotics and human-machine interaction is said to transform manufacturing significantly. According to a Kearney study[1], while over 70% of ASEAN manufacturers polled claimed to be “non-leaders/followers” of AI adoption, 47% believe investment in AI is “very critical” for their business. Gartner’s[2] Prism use case of GenAI in Manufacturing encourages leaders to evaluate AI use cases on a strategy that addresses both value generation and feasibility . Value parameters include increased revenue, increased efficiency, managed risk and non-financial gain. Feasibility parameters include technical feasibility, internal readiness, external readiness. So how can leaders operationalize AI, keeping value and feasibility in mind? At Human Managed, we believe it begins with an understanding of data. A framework to understand the highest impact for manufacturing businesses in the age of AI, would be to understand “3 Ops”-DataOps (Feeding AI), MLOps (Tuning AI), IntelOps (Applying AI). Data Ops (Feeding AI) In the manufacturing sector, data can be provided through assets in an interconnected ecosystem. From a range of sensors, machine data on temperature, vibrations, pressure, power consumption, operating hours etc are collected. Industrial machines, robotic arms and assembly lines can provide process data includes information on production rates, cycle times, error rates, material usage. Image and video data from cameras capture data for product dimensions and defect detection. ERP systems provide information on inventory levels, order information, transportation data. Given the vast array of data, manufacturing enterprises have to first solve for the issues around understanding the data […]

Industrial technology concept. Factory automation. Smart factory. INDUSTRY 4.0

How women can steer toward growing industries and companies

To build up their experience capital, women can pick the occupations, industries, and geographies that present the best opportunities to enhance their careers. Workplaces are full of talented, educated, and hardworking women. Many are caught off guard when, several years into their careers, they see that they are falling behind their peers, and they can’t put a finger on exactly how or why. Women, after all, are doing everything they can to prepare themselves for successful careers. As early as kindergarten, girls on average outperform boys across all disciplines, including math. Women in almost all developed countries earn undergraduate and graduate degrees at higher rates on average than men, with better grade point averages. Yet quite quickly after graduation, many women start losing ground in the workplace. For example, despite making up 59 percent of college graduates in the United States, women represent only 48 percent of those entering the corporate workforce. And then come the first promotions to management roles: For every 100 men, only 81 women are promoted. The blended average of 81 women overall breaks down to 99 Asian women, 89 White women, 65 Latina women, and 54 Black women. This advancement gap persists and compounds over women’s careers, with lower representation of women at every step of the corporate-leadership ladder. We call this phenomenon the “broken rung.” The first broken rung of the corporate ladder opens up a gender gap that widens further at every subsequent rung, including senior-leadership positions. It is that first broken rung, however, that affects the entire talent pipeline. Despite initiatives to improve gender parity in the corporate ranks over the past decades, gains have been modest. The largest improvement has been in the C-suite, where women have moved from being one in five top executives to just over one in four reporting […]

Aotearoa to host world-leading conference on women’s entrepreneurship

A major international conference in Auckland is putting the spotlight on how to better support female founders and highlighting wāhine Māori perspectives on entrepreneurship. What do female entrepreneurs really want and why is the system still stacked against them? These are a couple of the big questions due to be tackled at the world’s leading research conference on women’s entrepreneurship held in Aotearoa New Zealand for the first time ever this year. The Diana International Research Conference from 1-4 July, brings together top researchers and industry experts from around the world to tackle funding inequities, structural barriers and discuss the future of women-led enterprise, with a spotlight on te ao Māori perspectives. “This is the only conference that focuses solely on women’s entrepreneurship research, and it’s an opportunity to garner insights from interested attendees, researchers and founders,” says Professor Chris Woods, the Business School’s Theresa Gattung Chair for Women in Entrepreneurship, and Diana Conference co-chair. “We’ll be asking: What do women entrepreneurs want? How do we bridge the gap between academic research and industry, and how can we tackle the barriers women face when building businesses?” Hosted by the Business School’s Aotearoa Centre for Enterprising Women, the conference includes keynote talks, academic sessions, and a public-facing Impact Day on Friday 4 July, a one-day forum featuring panels on capital access, wāhine Māori leadership, and entrepreneurial futures. The day opens with ‘A boomer, Gen X, millennial and Gen Z walk into a panel’: Mana wāhine across the generations’. Business School senior lecturer Dr Kiri Dell (Ngāti Porou) says the panel will spotlight the unique strengths wāhine Māori bring to entrepreneurship. The kōrero will also explore te ao Māori concepts of sovereignty and entrepreneurship. “It’s about being role models, sharing networks and giving each other emotional support, challenging mainstream models of the […]

Women in leadership: Lessons from companies leading the way

Top organisations are deploying a range of strategies to address the known issues affecting women’s advancement. While companies are increasingly active in their efforts to drive gender equality, women remain underrepresented in the career pipeline. Women constitute 42 percent of all employees, yet make up just a quarter of executives and only 10 percent of CEOs for large, for-profit companies. The transition point from key management positions to CEO has the highest drop off (59 percent) in women’s representation of any in the pipeline. Over the past three years, the average growth rate across all industries in women taking leadership roles stands at 2.8 percent, with public administration and with rental, hiring, and real-estate services leading the pack at 19.6 percent and 15.1 percent growth rates, respectively. Despite the positive trajectory, women’s representation in management, C-suite, and CEO roles continues to be a particular challenge. Progress at the very top is expected to be slow Beyond today’s pipeline numbers, the low numbers of women in key management roles presents a challenge that is difficult to change in the near term. Of the 24 percent of women in key management roles today, many of them are in support roles, such as head of human resources and general counsel. Research on workplace diversity reveals, around 90 percent of CEO appointments come from line roles such as chief operating officer or head of a business division. This means the near-term pipeline of women who are in line for CEO appointments is even smaller than it appears. Efforts to achieve gender equality are apparent The objective to achieve gender equality and change these dynamics is evident. Companies implement stand-alone gender-equity strategies. Recruitment policies are the most emphasised area. However, while policies are a useful tool for progressing toward gender balance, they alone do […]

Victoria Meldrum_Anna Christensen_Cloudian_1

Cloudian appoints new APJ Channel and Marketing Directors

Cloudian has appointed Anna Christensen as Asia Pacific and Japan head of channel and alliances, and Victoria Meldrum into Christensen’s former role of Asia Pacific and Japan head of marketing. The appointments come as Cloudian experiences a surge in demand for its technology across the region as data demand rises and customers and partners seek shelter from tariff uncertainty. Cloudian’s software-first approach has enabled companies to upgrade data storage capabilities on existing hardware to avoid new capital expenditures now subject to tariff-inflated prices. The company is also helping organisations source hardware from local suppliers where needed and opening its inventory of pre-configured appliances acquired before tariffs to the APJ market. Christensen, who led Cloudian’s APJ marketing program since 2022 and brings deep experience from IT distributors NEXTGEN and Exclusive Networks, says new tariffs have introduced significant uncertainty into technology investment planning and added pressure to already-constrained IT budgets. In the picture: Victoria Meldrum, Anna Christensen. “Our software-defined approach has given flexibility, choice and control to our customers and partners across APJ,” she said. “Now, it’s also helping to shield them from tariff costs and uncertainty while establishing their foundation for data-centric applications, including AI workloads that will drive competitive advantage.” Meldrum joins Cloudian from Buckner Brand Management and brings more than 20 years’ experience working with companies including Fortinet, Menulog and Canon. She aims to deepen joint marketing initiatives with Cloudian’s APJ partner base, particularly in key and growing regions like A/NZ, India, Vietnam and the Philippines. “Cloudian’s unique partner-led model and engagement was a major drawcard for joining the company,” said Meldrum. “No one else in the market offers the same breath of technology in the increasingly important object storage space, exemplified by the company’s growing partnerships with NVIDIA and other AI leaders.” New initiative to support A/NZ tech […]

Kweh Jia Xuan

Meet Ms Kweh Jia Xuan, a 23-year-old athlete with mild intellectual disabilities, who represented Special Olympics Singapore in DanceSport (Latin Dance) for the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025! The Special Olympics World Games is the world’s largest humanitarian sporting event, and was hosted in Turin, Italy, this year. Over 100 nations sent nearly 1,500 athletes with intellectual disabilities to compete in 9 sports at the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2025, including 113 participants from the Asia Pacific region representing countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Team Special Olympics Singapore competed in DanceSport, showcasing their talent in the Latin Dance genre in both team and couples’ categories. Jia Xuan was part of the first-ever team of four athletes with intellectual disabilities, accompanied by four officials, to compete in the inaugural DanceSport competition at the Special Olympics World Games, after DanceSport was unveiled as an official Special Olympics sport in 2019. Jia Xuan’s passion for Latin Dance ignited during her secondary school years at APSN Tanglin School, through her co-curricular activities. She followed in the footsteps of her mum, Olivia Oh, 53, who was a keen dancer almost 20 years ago. Olivia has been a constant source of support, seeing Jia Xuan’s choice of activity as a fantastic way to stay fit and active. Although Olivia no longer dances herself, she’s one of the Special Olympics DanceSport’s team’s biggest fan, often helping with hair and makeup for performances. Reflecting on the choice of her co-curricular activity back in school, Jia Xuan said that her decision to choose dance was motivated by her love for music. However, she credits her patient and encouraging coach, Andy Ang, for motivating her to continue training weekly with Special Olympics Singapore’s DanceSport outreach for the past five years. Jia […]

Afsaneh Abolhassani embraces the technical side of warehouse automation

Swisslog Technical Lead, Afsaneh Abolhassani Swisslog Technical Lead, Afsaneh Abolhassani, has always enjoyed the technical aspects of complex automation and intralogistics projects, and encourages others to continuously learn the latest technologies and trends. In a career spanning more than 15 years in the logistics and automation industry, including eight years with Swisslog in design and consulting roles, and most recently a year as Technical Lead, Afsaneh hasn’t felt any additional challenges being a woman in a male-dominated field. “That doesn’t mean others haven’t faced challenges, of course, this is just my experience. For women – and for anyone – entering a new field of work, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the needs and requirements of that industry, to see if it’s a good fit for you, and to figure out where you can add the most value,” she says. After an initial seven years with Swisslog, Afsaneh moved to another company in the logistics and automation industry for four and a half years, before returning to Swisslog a little over a year ago, to commence her new role as Technical Lead. “I chose to return because this was an exciting opportunity, and Swisslog has recently taken steps to further enhance its already excellent culture that continues to put people first, proactively encourages you to expand your skills, and makes everyone feel welcome and supported,” she says. Afsaneh’s role involves collaborating with design teams to create complex solutions that meet the customer’s specific requirements. As a global leader in intralogistics and warehouse automation, Swisslog’s projects range from standardised and standalone automation solutions, right through to highly customised solutions for unique and large-scale applications. “Regardless of the size of the project, my job is to ensure all the technical aspects work successfully, and that the customer is satisfied with the […]

IWD: Engineering apprentice, Paris McCann, has bright future ahead

www.womengoingplaces.net When Paris McCann first stepped through the doors of Buckley Systems Ltd, she never dreamed she would become an apprentice – but fast forward four years and all that has changed. Now, she’s forging an exciting career in the manufacturing sector and is set to become one of the first-ever Buckley employees to complete a general engineering apprenticeship. “I initially joined Buckley as an Assembly Technician, but when they offered me an apprenticeship through Competenz I jumped at the opportunity,” says the Mt Wellington resident. “I like to learn new things, and the chance to study and work at the same time was just too good to turn down.” Buckley Systems Ltd is considered a great place for top-tier engineering talent, and although they’ve long offered apprenticeships in machining, fabrication and electrical engineering, general engineering is a recent addition. That spells great news for aspiring tradies like Paris. “The biggest highlight for me has been furthering my knowledge in areas I didn’t know much about,” she says. “Through this apprenticeship I’ve been able to learn new skills and develop my problem solving capabilities, and although the block courses pushed me out of my comfort zone, I got through them and they weren’t actually as hard as I thought they’d be!” The secret to her success? According to Competenz training advisor Luke van den Bos, a lot of it comes down to mindset. “Paris is motivated to complete and she works hard to keep herself on target,” says Luke. “When she was first employed at Buckley, taking on an apprenticeship wasn’t something she had considered so I’m extremely happy that the opportunity was offered to her, and she’s been able to embrace it, commit to it, and see it through. “Like I always tell my learners, completing an apprenticeship […]

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