Post-Event Write-up & Photos! 

FWA Males from the Top: Chapter 1 - The Wealth & Asset Management Industry

FWA was delighted to host the first chapter of our discussion with our Male Champions.  The first dialogue session brought together our male champions from the wealth and asset management industry. The turnout was spectacular with over 130 attendees filling up the spacious auditorium at GIC, our gracious host for this event. The mood was light hearted, yet we all left with meaningful takeaways and unreserved insights from our expert panelists and the moderator, Jennifer Lewis, Head of Communications at GIC.

Ms. Low Chin Loo, immediate past president of FWA and current events chair, kicked off the event thanking GIC for being our kind hosts and our male champions for their support. To date, FWA has 24 male champions, the latest addition being Mr. Alvin Lee, Head of Regional Wealth Management for MayBank. She also thanked member of parliament, Ms. Foo Mee Har, for taking time off her busy schedule to attend this event. Ms. Foo is MP for West Coast GRC and a member of the Government Parliamentary Committees of Finance and Trade and Industry, as well as Manpower. Ms. Foo herself was a very successful banker and a role model for aspiring females. She held the position of Global Head for Priority and International Banking of Standard Chartered Bank before joining public service.

Mr. Lim Chow Kiat, Group Chief Investment Officer of GIC, our keynote speaker for the event, spoke with much humility and started with some wise advice given by his daughter that any discussion on gender issues may contain sweeping generalizations and could be inadequate for addressing this subject’s complexity. Despite this caveat, Mr. Lim delivered an insightful speech on the business case for retaining female talents in all organizations.

Mr. Lim shared research on how dire the situation is with the pipeline of women reaching board levels grossly diminishing, especially the gap between middle management and executive management. The top reason cited for this drop is the “double barrel” syndrome - women struggling to cope with work and family responsibilities – leading to a high attrition rate as women opt out of the workforce or stay stagnant in their careers. He opined that women’s burdens could be lightened if men share family responsibilities at home. 

Organizations need to understand and address the leaky pipeline, as talent is scarce and competitive. Mr. Lim opined that businesses should frame gender discussions as a business imperative. When defined as a business issue, leaders with foresight would approach it as such and the loss of talent then receives a correct level of attention and prioritization.

The panel discussion was engaging, candid and at times humorous, which had the audience in stitches. Jennifer kicked off the discussion by asking the panelists whether they are champions because they raised their hands or were arm-twisted. All of our male champions acknowledged that gender inclusion was worthy of support, not only because three out of our four male panelists had daughters, but because they believed it was good business practice.

Mr. Kevin Hardy, Managing Director, Head of Beta Strategies, APAC & Country Head, Singapore, Blackrock, had some sound advice for the audience beginning with reframing the discussion, so that women do not feel victimized, but instead approach workplace issues from a position of strength.  He believes that women should surround themselves with positive people and high achievers to gain confidence and success in the workplace. Kevin believes that women’s greatest asset as compared to men was “empathy” but ultimately, leaders are chosen on gender-neutral terms.

Mr. Jalil Rasheed, CEO of Invesco Asset Management Singapore Ltd, commented that women need to put themselves forward and communicate their needs including flexible work arrangements and promotions. More often than not, women are equipped with the skills needed to lead, but may lack the confidence to do so. They should not shy away from asking for feedback on ways to improve themselves and also to highlight their achievements. Furthermore, women should not see taking a step back for a few years for family reasons as a handicap to progression in their careers. He cited an example of how his firm had hired a woman returning to the workforce after leaving for a few years, because she had the skills and personality needed for the job.

Mr. Jason Moo, Managing Director & Regional Manager for Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs Singapore, encouraged women to come forward and be very transparent with what they wanted. Chances are that if the firm values them, they will do whatever possible to accommodate them and find a compromise that works for both parties. Having said that, he understands the difficulties of flexible work arrangement when working in front office roles: to have “full-time” targets but fewer working days to achieve those targets is no easy feat. Hence, there have to be realistic expectations on both sides, where certain jobs suit flexi work more than others. He also opined that companies need to make a conscious effort to address this issue to maintain the pipeline of female talent.

The interactive audience and their interesting questions added further to the dialogue. In particular, a member from the audience felt that the focus should not fall only on women, but that solutions for men should also be part of the equation. In particular, men should step up in their care-giving responsibilities, and in so doing, share the “double-burden” syndrome with their partners.

All in all, it was an important start to our engagement of male leaders as champions of women’s success in the workplace. We thank our male champions for being part of our journey towards change. We will follow up with many more chapters, and we welcome all of you to journey with us.