Henkel and Merck co-sponsor membership drive

Rajat Agarwal from Henkel and Al Gabor from Merck shared insights on the invisible barriers women may face in the workplace, as well as goals for supporting employees, managers and women in their organizations. Elisabeth Staudinger of Siemens Healthcare shared her personal leadership journey as a woman. In breakout sessions, 34 participants delved into five common areas related to the advancement of women to find some workable solutions. They discussed the challenges they face and made recommendations for action to create a safe environment where women can overcome systemic inequalities and pursue career goals. WE Women in Development (WEC) led this panel sharing event. The takeaways from the discussion of the five questions above are as follows.

Group 1 - What are the perceived or actual barriers to women's career development? For example, there is not enough discussion on career development (Facilitator: Jane Wong Pinter)

Sometimes women lack confidence and are shy to express their views. Therefore, women must find their courage to take the initiative and make their voices heard.
Leaders should encourage women to take the initiative to ask for development opportunities and speak up, raise awareness of gender equality and initiate dialogues.
More recognition from male counterparts will help women overcome internal barriers.
Society's high expectations of women's dedication to their families make it more challenging for them to pursue their career goals.
Some talented women do not always have ambitions and ambitions.