That was the conclusion of the Women Media Network launch breakfast this morning at the Grand Hyatt, a curtain-raiser for this week’s Casbaa Convention.
The speakers included Christine Fellowes, MD, Asia-Pacific, Comcast International Media Group; Michelle Guthrie, senior advisor of Providence Equity Partners; Aliza Knox, head of online sales and operations for Asia-Pacific at Google; May Lee, founder and CEO of Lotus Media; Rohana Rozhan, CEO for Astro’s direct-to-home broadcast business in Malaysia and Brunei; and Laura E Wendt, VP and MD of Walt Disney TV International (Southeast Asia).
“Media is still a very young industry, different from traditional industries like banking,” said Wendt. “There are still many strong and successful women in the industry, though not at CEO or chairwomen level yet.”
May Lee agreed, adding: “There are lots of women in middle to senior management, but at the top top level, there are very few. Men are more aggressive in asking for pay rise and promotion, whereas more women may be more doubtful about their ability,”
Guthrie argued that it was more important to “fix the leaking pipeline” than break the glass ceiling - namely, encourage more women to take opportunities and put their hands up for promotion and transfer.
“The leaking pipeline is not good for business and society,” said Lee. “Organisations are traditionally built up by men; there won’t be any changes if the organisations themselves don’t change.”
Rozhan added that her firm, only 10 per cent of mid to senior management was female. “That’s because in their mid-20s, women are starting to get married, they may take time off to look after their families, and perhaps go back to the career world at 35.” She added tat there were also religious and social factors in Malaysia.
In short, greater visibility for women’s promotion, informal mentoring, better child support, and more women in the senior management level would help the next generation of women leaders reach their full potential.
The speakers included Christine Fellowes, MD, Asia-Pacific, Comcast International Media Group; Michelle Guthrie, senior advisor of Providence Equity Partners; Aliza Knox, head of online sales and operations for Asia-Pacific at Google; May Lee, founder and CEO of Lotus Media; Rohana Rozhan, CEO for Astro’s direct-to-home broadcast business in Malaysia and Brunei; and Laura E Wendt, VP and MD of Walt Disney TV International (Southeast Asia).
“Media is still a very young industry, different from traditional industries like banking,” said Wendt. “There are still many strong and successful women in the industry, though not at CEO or chairwomen level yet.”
May Lee agreed, adding: “There are lots of women in middle to senior management, but at the top top level, there are very few. Men are more aggressive in asking for pay rise and promotion, whereas more women may be more doubtful about their ability,”
Guthrie argued that it was more important to “fix the leaking pipeline” than break the glass ceiling - namely, encourage more women to take opportunities and put their hands up for promotion and transfer.
“The leaking pipeline is not good for business and society,” said Lee. “Organisations are traditionally built up by men; there won’t be any changes if the organisations themselves don’t change.”
Rozhan added that her firm, only 10 per cent of mid to senior management was female. “That’s because in their mid-20s, women are starting to get married, they may take time off to look after their families, and perhaps go back to the career world at 35.” She added tat there were also religious and social factors in Malaysia.
In short, greater visibility for women’s promotion, informal mentoring, better child support, and more women in the senior management level would help the next generation of women leaders reach their full potential.
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