International Women's Day

2023

New dates announced!

Join our upcoming #EmbraceEquity events:

#WomeninSTEAM (11 October 2023)
#WomeninHealth (18 October 2023)
#WomeninSports (26 October 2023)

International Men's Day Celebration (details coming soon!)

Register for your sessions now!

Join us in the various sessions offered throughout the year to celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness about discrimination and take action to drive gender parity.

Collectively, we can #EmbraceEquity for a harmonious and united Malaysia.

What is International Women's Day?

International Women’s Day began as an idea proposed by Clara Zetkin in 1910 at the International Conference of Working Women. Today, it is a worldwide celebration that acknowledges the accomplishments of women across different time periods, fields, and sectors.

 

LeadWomen has organised numerous events over the years to commemorate this day, using it as an opportunity to spark crucial conversations about gender equity and promote inclusion in the workplace. We are thrilled to bring this event back this year, now as a month-long celebration of women’s empowerment and resilience!

#EmbraceEquity

The theme for the International Women’s Day 2023 is #EmbraceEquity.

 

This year, we’re creating a collaborative space where we can join forces with various stakeholders as Equity Partners. By forming these partnerships, we’re able to bring together diverse groups to co-create impactful engagement opportunities, learning experiences, and drive progress towards gender equity in multitude of areas that impacts our daily lives.

 

According to many sources, including UN Women, “COVID-19 has increased the unpaid care and domestic workload, and women are bearing the heaviest burden. This is on top of evidence showing that in the Asia-Pacific region, women were already spending four times as much time as men on unpaid care work prior to the crisis.” (Source: UN Women (2020) Rapid Assessment Surveys on the Consequences of COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific.)

 

Hence, more than ever the call for women and all allies across industries, spaces, strata and spectrum are in need to come together for a more equitable world. We would like to indulge you to delve deeper with us in 2023 in and from Malaysia and beyond, to nurture a world that #EmbraceEquity.

Festival Tracks

Women in STEAM

Women in STEAM celebrates the achievements and contributions of female professionals in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics fields and spotlights the gender gap in in the rapidly evolving STEAM space.
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Women in Healthcare

Women in Healthcare shines a light on the gender gap in the industry and celebrates the achievements and contributions of female healthcare professionals, promoting equity in the field.
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Women in Sports

Women in Sports aims to break down gender barriers, promote diversity, equity and inclusion in e-sports, and encourage more women to get involved in this exciting and dynamic field.
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Concluded Sessions

Women in Peace

Women in Peace celebrates the crucial role of women in promoting peace, security, and stability and highlights the need for their full and equal participation in all aspects of peacebuilding.

Women in Marketing

Women in Marketing highlights the achievements and contributions of female marketing professionals, promoting equity in the industry, and underscores the importance of gender-responsive marketing.

Women in Film

Women in Film spotlights the achievements and contributions of female filmmakers and professionals in the film industry, highlighting their impact and promoting diversity and equity in the field.

Festival Finale

Why Attend?

Join exciting and enriching workshops, film screenings and panel sessions on gender equity.
Celebrate women's achievements and advancements in various industries.
Discover new ideas and perspectives on gender equity and women's rights

*For corporate/bulk registrations, please contact Archana at archana@lead-women.com.

Speakers

More will be announced soon!

Anne was a corporate leader from the technology industry for more than 20 years before she founded LeadWomen. She is recognised as a thought leader in diversity and inclusion, both locally and regionally and is the co-founder of the Malaysian Chapter of the 30% Club, a global business campaign lobbying for increased women representation on the boards.

Anne Abraham

Founder and Chairperson, LeadWomen

Sessions: 

  • Panel Session: Women in Peace
  • Collective Panel
Dr. Tsee Leng Choy is a trained neuroscientist and a former academic with more than 10 years of research and teaching experience. She was part of a neuroscientist team featured in a Canadian documentary on brain injury, has co-authored a book on emotions and spoken at keynotes, plenaries, workshops and seminars in Canada and Malaysia

Dr. Choy Tsee Leng

Director of Research and Content, LeadWomen

Sessions: 

  • Knowledge Session on Gender-Responsive Marketing
Archana is a recipient of the Gawad ASEANO Award, a youth leadership award acknowledging youth leaders whose lives exemplify the ideals of service leadership. She was acknowledged in the List of 100 Women in Malaysia, International Women’s Day Publication – THE PULSE by Saito University College in 2022. She has also been featured on various ASEAN publications.

Archana Pillai

 Festival Programmer, LeadWomen

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women in Film
Shuen is invested in creating fun learning experiences for all through effective program design. She strongly believes in autonomous learning and is focused on creating sustainable long-term change within communities and individuals. At LeadWomen, she hopes to create a more equitable work environment for all through the Women’s Empowerment Principles campaign.

Shi Shuen Lok

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant, LeadWomen

Session: 

  • Knowledge Session on Gender-Responsive Marketing
Kasturi is a former MP for Batu Kawan, former President of Parliamentarians for Global Action and a former member of Parliamentary Special Select Committee for International Affairs. She is a Steering Group member of International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion and Belief. She is an abolitionist for the death penalty and wishes a Malaysia with no child marriages, no custodial deaths and a more inclusive society.

Kasthuri Patto

Politician, Advocate of Justice, Equality & Freedom

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women in Peace
Dr. Aqsa Isa is interested in multidisciplinary work and research involving (violent) extremism and (de) radicalisation. Her recent project was a collaboration with the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and the US Embassy to educate women from local universities and civil society organisations about how they can be manipulated into subscribing to extreme ideologies, and eventually empower them to be peace agents.

Dr. Aqsa Isa

Senior Lecturer, Dept of English Language, Universiti Malaya

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women in Peace
At the age of 5, Tan Chui Mui made a small wooden stool. At 8, she drove a pick up truck onto a column. At 9, she printed a children's magazine. At 12, she finished reading an Encyclopedia. At 17, she had a column in a student weekly paper. At 21, she received a computer animation degree. At 27, she made her first film LOVE CONQUERS ALL. At 38, she gave birth to a child. At 41, she decided to learn martial arts.

Tan Chui Mui

Filmmaker, film producer and director

Sessions: 

  • Film Screening: Barbarian Invasion
  • Panel Session: Women in Film
Dina is an award-winning writer based in Kuala Lumpur. She has appeared on international media and literary festivals, such as Aljazeera, the BBC, the Ubud Writer's Festival and the Georgetown Literary Festival. Co-founder of IMAN Research, a local think tank focusing on socio-political and security matters, and founding member of the Southeast Asian Women Peacebuilders.

Dina Zaman

Co-Founder, IMAN Research, SEA Peace Network

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women in Peace
Nizwani is an outgoing, passionate and enthusiast in advertising. She joined Ogilvy in 2011 as Group Account Director and rose up the ranks to be Chief Executive of Ogilvy Malaysia, being the youngest Chief Executive in Malaysian advertising. She was voted unanimously as Vice President of the Malaysia 4As where she is defining the industry POV and regulations related to DEI in advertising.

Nizwani Shahar

Vice President, Malaysia 4As | Ex-Chief Executive, Ogilvy | Malaysia Women To Watch, Campaign Brief Asia

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women in Marketing
Yee Hui Tsin became CEO of TBWA \ KL in 2021. She believes in an agency culture that is open, respectful, and collaborative, and have used this belief to turn TBWA into an agency that is progressive and forward-thinking – where more than half the people are women, and one that cares greatly about the development of young talent, and a balance life-work culture. She may be small in size, but she packs a big punch.

Yee Hui Tsin

Chief Executive Officer, TBWA \ KL

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women in Marketing
Sofia Jane started working in the late 80’s throughout high school as a model for TV commercials and background actor for local tv dramas and films. After a long hiatus, she is slowly picking up where she left off, having just finished One Cent Thief the series , the film Maryam by BadrulHisham Ismail and Nenek Bongkok Tiga for viu Malaysia .

Sofia Jane

Actress

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women in Film
Hazlin is a professional Filmmaker with over 17 years of industrial and teaching experience in the creative and film industries, theatre, and higher education sector. Highly skilled in managing multiple roles such as directing, screenwriting, script doctoring, acting coaching, managing production, assistant directing, production troubleshooting, and post-producing matters.

Nor Hazlin Salam

Actors Emergence Project

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women in Film
Ridhwan Saidi is a Malaysian novelist, playwright, leftfield theatre maker and co-founder of indie publishing house, Moka Mocha Ink (mokamochaink.com) which focuses on contemporary Malay fictions and drama. He is a part of the LiteraCity research team, a literary mapping project of Kuala Lumpur.

Ridhwan Saidi

Filmmaker, Writer, Theatre Practitioner, MokaMocha Ink

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women In Film

Deepti Saraf

General Manager, Roche Malaysia

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Festival Finale

Sophie Azlan

Lecturer, Game Development, UOW Malaysia KDU University College

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Festival Finale

Sarina Sundara Rajah

Founding Principal, Sarina Rhythmic Gymnastics Club Founding President, Safe Sport Malaysia

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Women In Film

Freda Liu

Global Speaker, Author, Broadcast Journalist, Emcee, Moderator and Trainer

Session: 

  • Panel Session: Festival Finale (Moderator)

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Interested to be our Equity Partner for the event?

Talk to Archana at archana@lead-women.com to learn more about our sponsorship and partnership packages.