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Issue no. 2 | 2021
Special Segment: Celebrating International Women’s Day 2021

Gender Equality in the Workplace Webinar

AWAM collaborated with Canon Malaysia and organised a
forum in conjunction with International Women's Day this
year. This forum was on gender equality in the workplace.

The three speakers at the forum were HR Director of
Canon, Ms. Julia Cheah, Ms. Anne Abraham from Lead
Women and Associate Professor Dr. Shanthi Thambiah
from the Gender Studies Programme, Universiti Malaya.
The forum was held on the 20th of March 2021.
Generation

Equality

Forum

As a panellist on gender-
based violence at the
Generation Equality Forum, Dr
Lai Suat Yan, Coordinator and
Senior Lecturer of the Gender
Studies Programme, spoke
about a workshop held in
February to review the code of
conduct to handle sexual
harassment cases in the
Universiti Malaya. Firstly, this
workshop discussed how, procedurally there needs to be
terms of the policy, procedures and handling of such
an inclusion of a timeline for the Disciplinary Committee to
cases as they are the ones most likely to receive such
convene, conduct a hearing if necessary, decide on the
cases. There was also discussion of the difficulty of
outcome and to mete out the punishment.
engaging men in the conversation and why it took such a
long time for the Sexual Harassment Bill, under the
Previously, a timeline had been specified only in relation
auspices of the Ministry of Women, Family and
to the time provided for the Panel of Investigation to hold
Community Development (KPWKM), to be finalized.
an inquiry and come to a conclusion of its findings. Also
highlighted was the right of the complainant to know the
Sumitra Visvanathan, Executive Director of Women's Aid
results of the investigation and, if there is merit to the
Organization was also on the same panel, with Freda Liu
complaint, to be informed of the punishment meted out.
from BFM Radio moderating the panel. There were 33
Secondly, there was discussion of broadening the policy
participations for the online webinar on the 23rd of March
from focusing on sexual harassment to include protection
300
2021, with the recording of the webinar reaching
from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), with a specific
views on Facebook on the same day. This was followed
focus on children given their vulnerability.
by another panel on “Bodily Autonomy and Sexual and
reproductive health and rights (SRHR)”.
Thirdly, there is a need to widen and systematise the
raising of awareness of the policy. For example, the policy
The online webinar was held to raise awareness in
can be introduced to every new staff during the induction
Malaysia of the Generation Equality Forum scheduled for
course and to all incoming students during the orientation
June in Paris which hopes to contribute to the progress of
week. Also raised was the necessity for a gender
achieving gender equality around the world. The event
sensitized training program for deans of faculties, heads
was organised by the UN Women with the governments
of department, and principals of residential colleges in
of France and Mexico as co-hosts.
10 | Pulse @ FASS