JULY 26 — July 20, 2026 had ushered in a new dawn for women, as it marked the launch on MIGHT Malaysia’s Foresight Project outcome, two books on Futures According to Women.
Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Malaysia’s former deputy prime minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bandar Tun Razak, accompanied by Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, had graciously launched these books at MIGHT Malaysia in Cyberjaya. Joining Wan Azizah and Nancy Shukri on stage for the launch were Tan Sri Ahmad Tajuddin Ali, co-chairman of MIGHT, Datuk Ruziah Shafei, deputy secretary general, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) and Rushdi Abdul Rahim President and CEO MIGHT.
Welcome and keynote address by Rushdi Rahim, President and CEO MIGHT
Rushdi Abdul Rahim in his speech had shared that MIGHT, is the leading organisation engaged in foresight programme for government agencies and industries, aimed to support the development of policies and strategies that will allow governments and organisations to think about the future, exploring stories about how it might unfold. Rushdi highlighted that MIGHT has developed a number of Futures Project and that this is the first time a Futures Project is focussed on Women seeking their views and opinions for the future
Rushi had commented that when he invited both Wan Azizah and Nancy Shukri to deliver their remarks, Wan Azizah and Nancy Shukri had both responded that Rushdi should deliver the remarks.
In his speech Rushdi had made reference to the movie What Women Want in which the lead actor was able to hear women’s thoughts and wishes and remarked that although he has no such ability, however these books on Futures According to Women has incorporated women’s views and wishes for the future.
These two books include one a compilation of quotes by 62 ladies distinguished in their careers in selected fields and the other, a thicker version comprising interviews of many ladies featured in the book and written response by others.
62 women sharing their views and wishes for the future
62 women distinguished in their careers in the fields covering national leaders and changemakers, education and talent development, economic, finance and business outlook, environmental stewardship, healthcare and wellness, media and communications, arts, culture and identity and science and technology had shared their views and wishes in the Futures According to Women book.
Women featured in the national leaders and changemaker include amongst others Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, former minister of international trade and industry, Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen, former minister of tourism, Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim, former minister of women, family and community development and Datin Paduka Komala Devi, former parliamentary secretary ministry of education, Tan Sri Dr Mazlan Othman, former director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa), Neney Suhaidah Shamsuddin, Syariah High Court judge, Datuk Dr Hafsah Hashim, former CEO SME Corp, Datin Nurlin Salleh, partner and MD BCG, Ida Semurni Abdullah, COO MIGHT, Norliza Hashim, CEO Urbanice Malaysia, Tan Mei Ling, senior country operations officer and the gender country focal point for the World Bank Group
For further more information on these books, MIGHT in its Instagram has kindly provided a link to access the book.
And Datuk Jacqueline Fong, founder and director at Tanoti Sdn Bhd one of the ladies featured in the book has shared in her LinkedIn of separate versions of these books.
Acknowledgment
I would like to convey my appreciation to both Rushdi Abdul Rahim, President and CEO MIGHT and Ida Semurni Abdullah COO MIGHT for appointing me as MIGHT Senior Associate for the period July 2025-June 2026 to provide technical and analytical expertise insights to the project on Futures According to Women as well as inviting and featuring me in the book on Financing covering business angel financing, venture capital financing, climate financing including financing nuclear power.
The current state of women in leadership roles — a global overview
The World Economic Forum reported that its Global Risks Report, in 2026 highlighted that business leaders and policy-makers are operating in an environment defined by competition and uncertainty.
The convergence of accelerating technological change, geopolitical instability, demographic shifts and increasing societal and political polarization has multiplied the pressures on decision-makers. Navigating this complexity requires leadership teams capable of managing uncertainty and drawing on diverse perspectives with agility.
Yet, despite progress in education and workforce participation, women remain significantly underrepresented at the top.
The WEF spotlighted that Globally, women make up 41.2 per cent of workers but only 28.1 per cent of leaders — a persistent “drop-to-the-top” that reflects systemic barriers rather than a lack of capability. This gap is most visible in high-growth, high-influence fields: while women constitute nearly one-third of STEM graduates, they represent just 14 per cent of STEM leaders.
Recent trends indicate a regression in leadership parity. The share of women in new senior leadership appointments peaked in 2022 at 34.8 per cent and has since fallen for three consecutive years, reaching 32.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.
The WEF further elaborated that Board appointments show a similar decline, dropping from 17.2 per cent in 2020 to 14.2 per cent in 2024. Evidence suggests that when labour markets tighten, women’s leadership hiring declines disproportionately, particularly in industries where women are already a minority.
Addressing these patterns is more than a matter of fairness; it is a strategic and economic necessity. Industries with more gender-balanced workforces demonstrate greater resilience during downturns, showing an improved ability to navigate shocks, stronger continuity in leadership parity, and better talent retention. Diverse leadership teams bring broader perspectives, stronger risk management and greater responsiveness to shifting consumer expectations.
At a time when disruption is the norm rather than the exception, organisations cannot afford to overlook half of the leadership talent pool. As part of the World Economic Forum’s global gender parity sprint, a growing coalition of leaders is advancing action, evidence and innovation to accelerate progress.
An alarming statistics provided by the WEF showed that at the current rate of progress, it will take 123 years to close the global gender gap, 135 years to close the economic gender gap and 162 years to close the political empowerment gap.
WEF dovetails that Without the full creativity, talent and innovation of one half of the population, economic growth, business dynamism and societal resilience will remain suboptimal.
It further underscored that the opportunity before business and government leaders is not just to close the gap, but to build an economy that is prosperous, resilient, and fair.
Recommendations for the government of Malaysia
- In view that the book has incorporated the views and wishes of women in their respective fields and that it is imperative to provide a platform for women in decision making and leadership roles, further enhancing inclusivity in Malaysia and building an economy that is prosperous, resilient, and fair, specific policy recommendations should be developed for the attention of the Government including the Chief Secretary to the Government and the Director-General of the Public Service Department) Tan Sri Shamsul Azri bin Abu Bakar and Director General of Public Service Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Haji Abdul Aziz as well as to Minister of Women, Family and Community Development to serve as critical input to the formulation of national policies to enhance women’s participation and leadership in different sectors of the economy.
- Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development led by Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation led by Minister Datuk Chang Lih Kang and Ministry of Digital led by Datuk Gobind Singh Deo could partner to initiate a Programme on Role Models in STEAM sharing the success plus issues and challenges of women not only in STEM but also in Arts who have reached the top echelon of their respective fields and career to inspire more girls and women to reach their full potential. The women in MIGHT’s Book on Futures According to Women could serve as a start for this programme and follow up with other distinguished women not featured in the book
- Media organisations could support to feature ladies distinguished in their careers in their media column and Bernama could interviews these ladies to share to a wider audience the views and experience of these women in the book as well as others not featured in the book
- The Ministry of Higher Education led by Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and supported by Secretary-General Datuk Dr Aminuddin Hassim could consider launching a National Programme led by MoHE on Women Role Model in STEAM firstly distributing MIGHT’s book on Futures According to Women to Schools for their libraries and announcing this to increase the awareness of girls of the availability of such a book and additionally initiate a regular talk by women distinguished in their careers to give talks to schools especially Girls schools to inspire more girls and women to achieve success for women, their family and our country Malaysia!
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
