Every International Women’s Day is a reminder on how far women have come and how much more needs to be done in a bid to create a world free of gender inequality in all aspects such as diversity, inclusivity and equity. We may have a long road ahead of us but together, we can overcome the bias and resistance we face. In celebration of this global event, we have gathered a roundup of female founders and designers within the societyA community to share more on their efforts to create a fair and inclusive environment to their workplace and what #BreakTheBias – stepping out of conventional ideas and expectations society has on women, meant to them.
1) Daniela Pelonara, Founder & Managing Director of Native Essentials
Daniela Pelonara founded Native Essentials back in 2011 to create minimalistic skincare products that are eco-friendly, plant-based. sustainable and effective. This beautiful collection of organic skincare is formulated with pristine native botanicals and high-performance, natural, active ingredients to create effective results without the hassle of long, drawn-out beauty ritual for the modern women.
- What percentage of your workforce are female?
Approximately 90% is female, and the age range is 26 to over 50 years old. - What’s your view towards equality in the workforce?
When I am looking for contractors or staff, I look exclusively at their skills and experience. I particularly value mothers as I am one of them (!), and I know that they can deliver a fantastic quality of work with a bit of flexibility from my side. I think that in 2022 the real fair opportunities in the workplace should focus on mothers who are struggling to return to the workforce, women in their 50s and people of different backgrounds and nationalities. - Is it important that you work with fair-trade vendors/partners in your production line?
Absolutely yes, although it is getting harder to verify if an ingredient is genuinely fair-trade. Fair-trade needs to be associated with sustainability, as Native Essentials’ brand ethos respects people and mother earth. - How important is gender equality to you in this day and age?
I live in Thailand, and I have learnt to appreciate how natural it can be to give equal opportunities to all genders. - Please leave an affirmation/reminder that you’d like to share with other Women.
A woman’s place is everywhere - What does #BreakTheBias mean to you?
#BreakTheBias is not just gender but also age and background. Society expects women to be attractive when they are young and efficient and caring when they grow older; women now value being independent, confident, proud of their skills and comfortable in their skin.
2) Wei Lin, Founder and CEO of PH5
PH5 is a New York based contemporary womenswear label that specializes in knitwear founded by Wei Lin back in 2014 and designed by Parsons-trained, award-winning designer, Zoe Champion. The label challenges the conventional vision of knitwear by marrying whimsical designs with architectural dimensions of knitting techniques in hope to redefine what knitwear can be for the future.
- What percentage of your workforce are female?
Our PH5 team is 80% female. Age ranges from 30 – 55 years old. - What’s your view towards equality in the workforce?
We don’t specifically look at gender, just whoever does the job the best. We don’t really have a guidebook or anything, gender is really not something we look at when we choose who to work with, both internally and externally. - Is it important that you work with fair-trade vendors/partners in your production line?
Yes, that’s very important. We want to treat our people well, and we want to work with companies that treat their people well. That’s one of the biggest reasons why we and our vendors/partners are loyal to each other. - How important is gender equality to you today?
I recognize gender bias as an important issue in the society, but as a woman, I don’t want to fall into the victim mindset, but instead, recognize the power I own to continue chasing my dreams and beliefs and not let anyone tell me or my team that it is impossible because we are female. - What does #BreakTheBias mean to you?
It means breaking any bias step by step, day by day. Changes don’t happen overnight, changes happen when we carry good values into our day-to-day, then collectively we can break the bias on women. We must set good examples for people around us. That’s pretty much all I can do. - Please leave an affirmation/reminder that you’d like to share with other women
Recognize gender inequality, but don’t let it stand in your way of achieving great things in life.
3) Magali Pascal, Founder and Creative Director of Magali Pascal
Magali Pascal is a Parisian-born fashion designer who founded her namesake label for her studio in Bali, Indonesia back in 2005. The label reimagines classic Parisian style with twenty-first century modernity – focusing on timeless, feminine and sophisticated design.
- What percentage of your workforce are female?
Our workforce is 90% female, from ages 23 to 45 years old. Our team is international, employing women from: Indonesia, France, Australia, Germany, Peru, and England. - What’s your view towards equality in the workforce?
Whether we are hiring for our in-house atelier or our head office, at Magali Pascal we hire based on skills and experience. - How important is gender equality to you today?
As founder and Art Director of my fashion business and a working mother to a boy and a girl, gender equality is extremely important to me. I want my children to grow up knowing they can do whatever they want to do if they put their minds to it, without feeling confined to out-of-date gender roles and expectations. - Please leave an affirmation/reminder that you’d like to share with other women.
Support each other! As women we are so often made to think of each other as competition, but if we challenge that stigma and support and empower each other there is so much more we can achieve both as individuals and a gender. - What does #BreakTheBias mean to you?
#BreakTheBias to me means freedom from stereotypes, a mission that we are all collectively on.
Discover Magali Pascal’s Spring / Summer’22 collection soon at societyA.
4) Lily Kew, Founder and CEO of Kew Organics
Lily Kew founded Kew Organics, a homegrown organic skincare label back in 2014. Kew Organics started out as a bespoke organic facial bar but has since expanded its business into skincare and introduced the world’s first organic facial peel bar concept. Kew Organics continues to push the envelope on organic skincare to help men and women achieve clear and healthy skin.
- What percentage of your workforce are female?
99% of our workforce are women that ranges from 30 to 50 years old. - What’s your view towards equality in the workforce?
Our recruitment is based on the candidate’s drive and experiences for the job match. Thus, we will not look at gender as our top considerations. In fact, I am always open to having more opposite gender for a female dominating industry. - Is important that you work with fair-trade vendors/partners in your production line?
Definitely. We support and aim to achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. In fact, it’s one of Kew Organics’ aims to improve the lives of women in need. A great example will be our collaboration with Free Set for one of the gift items – an organization that saved many sex workers taken from their homes in villages and communities across West Bengal. - How important is gender equality to you today?
I think equal opportunities should be given based on one’s passion and capabilities and not be influenced by the stereotype of how certain gender or age group should be. For example, men cannot perform well in maternal duties or women in business cannot think logically without getting emotional. When in fact, men are taking up the role of a penguin dad and undertake care-giving roles and women excelling in their high-flyer positions at big organizations without forgoing their family. - What does #BreakTheBias mean to you?
This year’s theme is certainly a good reminder to start staying away from discernments and stereotypes. We should learn to see things at different angles and embrace the differences of everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. This way, it will help push us to unleash the potential and strength we may not even know we harness. Taking my own experiences for example, while many perceive woman from 40’s onwards should enjoy their lives or plan for retirement since they will be heading towards their golden years. I took the road less travelled – I launched Kew Organics at 43 and grew the brand from a humble HDB abode estate to 4 outlets, 1 franchise concept store, 2 counters including Society A and Tang Plaza and 3 omni platforms today, each with customised bespoke facial treatments and products catered to meet different skin needs. Also, I gave birth to 2 children at aged 45 and 48 while I embarked on my entrepreneurship. - Please leave an affirmation/reminder that you’d like to share with other women
Don’t be dismayed or swayed by the naysayers. Be strong in your faith, listen to your inner voice, have trust and confidence in yourself and believe you can #BreakTheBias too.