IWD 2024: Inspiring Inclusion And Empowering Women In IOI

08/03/2024, Corporate Communications

Since 2020, IOI Corporation Berhad (IOI) has been celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) to acknowledge women’s social, economic, scientific and political achievements. This year, on 8 March 2024, we continue to celebrate the accomplishments of our women and emphasise the need for inclusivity and empowerment under the IWD’s global theme of Inspire Inclusion at the Group-wide IWD celebration at IOI headquarters.

IOI Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor gave a call of reminder on the importance of inclusion and diversity, which was echoed by our Independent Non-Executive Director Dato’ Kong Sooi Lin, who was present among an audience of over 100 employees at the hybrid celebration.

Dato’ Lee said: “Inclusion and diversity should not be just buzzwords but essential values that should enable us to create an environment where women from different segments of the society are valued and respected.” Inclusion begins with embracing the diversity that an individual brings to the table. With the participation of everyone, an inclusive environment can be created where every voice is heard, every perspective is valued, and every contribution is recognised.

Dato’ Kong said: “We women, more than anyone else, know how difficult it is to achieve gender equality. We need to create an inclusive environment where the strength in numbers and voices mean women will be more likely to be heard, be more empowered and be on an equal platform.”

The Inspire Inclusion theme resonates with our commitment to promoting a culture of openness and understanding, and cultivating a drive towards gender equality. In line with IOI’s commitment to promote inclusion, we launched the expansion of our existing Women and Empowerment Committee at the plantation level to include the Group-level. This will enable us to advance gender equality and foster inclusion by creating more opportunities for women to thrive as well as empowering women to uplift their voices and achieve their full potential.

From left to right: Moderator IOI Chief Sustainability Officer Dr Surina Ismail, IOI Company Secretary Mr Vincent Tan, Assistant Representative of the United Nations Population Fund Tengku Aira Tengku Razif, IOI Oleochemicals Sdn Bhd Assistant General Manager Irin DeCruz and IOI Plantation Services Sdn Bhd Senior Sustainability Manager (Plantation) Mr Agos Bin Atan at the IWD 2024 panel discussion.

Apart from a video presentation of our Group-wide IWD celebrations and an online game, a physical panel discussion was held, which served as an enlightening and thought-provoking dialogue on the challenges of women’s inclusion, the misconceptions of people towards gender diversity, the societal changes that are needed to change the mindsets of gender parity, and more.

The journey of inclusivity and empowerment requires the commitment of everyone, and we are not stopping our efforts to bridge the gender gap as we persist in exposing the gaps that exist, and raising awareness about the injustice, discrimination and other issues related to women.