Superwomen of the workforce - FCM launches Womenwise in Asia

Womenwise, an initiative guided by a vision for women to be equally represented, valued and rewarded at FCM Travel Solutions (a subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group) launches in Asia today. Carole Cooper, Global Peopleworks Leader and Co-Founder of Womenwise, as well as women from all areas of the business in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China will fly into Singapore from their respective countries to celebrate the launch.

Established in 2015 by a group of Flight Centre Travel Group senior female leaders to inspire all women, Womenwise showcases opportunity, provides role models and offers structured support to create gender balance across FCTG businesses including leadership roles. Now a global movement, Womenwise chapters can be found across FCTG’s businesses in Australia, The Americas, UAE, South Africa, with Asia as its latest addition. Throughout the year, they offer platforms for women to connect and engage via various opportunities including regional Town Hall events, panel discussions and the annual Womenwise conference, which aims to foster gender diversity and address issues associated with achieving equality in the workplace.

As part of the focus in engaging FCTG’s women, 2019 will see the introduction of new processes such as elimination of unconscious bias in recruitment, flexible working arrangements for working mothers, and the launch of the Womenwise chapter in Asia. The inaugural Womenwise Leadership Summit facilitated by FCTG’s in-house, world-class leadership development specialists and senior leaders was also organised as a career development day for female middle managers looking to leap forward into leadership roles and future-proof their career.  

Women’s relatively low representation in leadership positions has been a global issue. Worldwide, slightly less than four women hold leadership positions for every ten men in business and politics according to a 2018 Power of parity report by McKinsey. Even though Asia-Pacific nations have made progress in the past decade, driven by a combination of economic development, market forces, technological change, government measures and female activism, women are still heavily under-represented in APAC leadership positions with 28% of senior roles held by women according to a 2019 Grant Thornton Women in Business report.

In FCM Asia, the percentage of women in the workplace is 69%, with female leadership at 55%. “We are constantly making conscious efforts to drive this transformation in female leadership parity. It is important to recognise the influence and contribution of FCM’s women who are passionately contributing to the workplace and ensure they have equal and fair opportunities in leadership development,” says Bertrand Saillet, Managing Director at FCM Travel Solutions, Asia. “Women and men both need to be the catalysts to drive this transformation towards an inclusive and diverse workforce of the future.”