Since I studies Computer Science in university (HKU), it was relatively natural in taking a technology related career. Basically have been in this industry since graduate from university.
Did you ever feel discriminated against in your work place because of your sex?
Never. I never have such feeling and I always think/feel having equal opportunities as compared to male colleagues.
How do you balance your work and family responsibilities? Do you think you have to sacrifice the one for the sake of the other?
I think this is not an IT industry specific issue. It is a challenge to everyone in any industry and career. It requires good planning and discipline in getting good work life balance. Personally, I feel good about my work life balance as I always planned my day well in making full use of my time. I don’t have the feeling of sacrificing the one for the other. Instead, I always think one compliment the other. For example, in teaching kids, you need to be patient and also be positive in motivating them to try new things and gain new skills. Similar technique is also required to being a good manager/coach for the team in work, just that your audiences are now adult instead of kids. On the other hand, we use scorecard, mutual agreement to drive business performance; apply incentive to drive behaviors and results. Similarly, we use simple scorecard (sticker system), discussion and agreement with kids to drive their good behavior.
Please describe your typical day in office and at home?
Wake up at 7am when my daughter wakes up for school so that I can see her at the beginning of the day and company her to take school bus. I then go back to office and start my work day at 9am. Normally will be lots of meetings and work throughout the office hour. I do not need big lunch and normally like to use my lunch time to work so that I can finish work earlier. Typically I leave office at 6:30 or 7pm so that I can back home to have dinner with my family. I particular enjoy the dinner time with my family when I can learn more from them on what’s happening to them that day and also share mine. If my daughter has any questions on her homework/studies, I will teach her after dinner. After reading stories and set my daughter to bed at around 10pm, I will do some reading or clear some work if need. Microsoft supports flexible work hour and work at home practice, so I do not need to stay in the office late and I can plan how to use my time. I feel totally fine if I need to log on at night after my daughter has slept and work for a couple of hour before I get to bed.
In the West, the proportion of women in IT is declining. Do you think the situation in Asia is better in this regard?
It is true that proportion of women in IT in the West is declining. According to a recent research published in “Harvard Business Review” (June, 2008) - more than half the women in Technical fields leave the industry-- most of them during their mid- to late 30s. Plus, the girls in high school learning technology related subjects are declining.
However, we see different situation in Microsoft Greater China Region. One example is our female recruiting rate has increased by 20 per cent compare with last year (FY07). Hiring managers’ inclusiveness and staffing team’s effective supports are the primary drivers of this positive change.
Women leave IT because they can and that men typically don’t have that alternative because they tend to be the primary breadwinners. Do you agree?
No. Again, I think this is not IT industry specific. I have male friends who leave IT industry and pursue his career in other industry. I also have female friends stepping from other industry into IT industry. So it is just a personal decision and choice of career.
Does gender diversity bring a competitive edge to IT companies?
Yes. Diversity will bring different ideas and views and make the decision more complete and address a broader audience. Just like men typically focus on new features and functionalities, women focus more on design and experience which is also a trend that technology moving into.
Should IT companies consciously increase the percentage of women in their employee pool?
Every successful corporation has a responsibility to use its resources and influence to make a positive impact on the world and its people. First and foremost, it is the right thing to do. Second, our work force should reflect the diversity and inclusion of our customers, partners, stockholders and the communities around the world in which we do business. Finally, Microsoft needs the insight, creativity and diverse perspective that a range of employees with rich backgrounds and life experiences can bring to the table.
Thus, we do consciously and consistently increase the percentage of women globally and each region also has its localized policy to meet their targets.
What are the benefits of doing so?
Technology products are not only for male. The whole market includes both men and women. By having a diverse work force will definitely make sure we address different customer’s needs and requirements.
In more details, diversity can bring the following 3 kinds of benefits to the company
- Talent: Microsoft seeks to attract and retain the best and brightest employees. This enables us to gain a competitive advantage in emerging markets.
- Customer: If we truly want to have a compelling value proposition of our customers, we must understand the rich diversity and needs of our customer base.
- Innovation: We work hard to build innovative products for an increasingly diverse customer base by using the talents, ideas and perspectives of our diversity work force.
What is the impact on team dynamics, working hours, customer satisfaction, cost of facilities and attrition?
Diversity and Inclusion are not just abstract concepts in Microsoft – they are core values and critical strategic business imperatives. We promote diversity at every level of the organization and strive for inclusiveness in everything we do. We are making progress and we’re on the right path. Great improvements have been made on team dynamics, working hours, customer satisfaction, cost of facilities and attrition etc.
For example, almost all Microsoft Full Time Employees are entitled for flexibile working arrangements, such as flexible working hour, work from home, tele-work or reduced working hours. This has helped a significant number of employees to maintain excellent work-life balance and also enable them to pursue their dreams outside of core careers.
As one of our efforts to increase female representation rate in Greater China Region, we have also introduced a re-hiring program a few years ago, that is designed and dedicated to female only. This initiative has brought significant female hiring results to the company, plus it is cost – saving, good for corporate image. It is also a great recognition to those talented females who left the company because of family reasons.
What are the challenges of recruiting, retaining and managing women employees?
The key challenges we have is to increase female representation rates in the following 3 categories:
- Overall female representation rate
- Technical female representation rate
- Management level female representation rate
Thus, we have a whole bunch of plan to achieve the above targets, such as diversity training at all levels, series of educational as well as inspirational female forums, networking events, campus related programs, women @ Microsoft community, trainings and mentoring programs etc. All these aim at providing a better support to female employees and allow them to have a work family balance environment.
Is there a need for special policies to retain women?
We have different policy in different region. The core philosophy we have is to empowering female without patronizing them.
As indicated above, we have a whole bunch of plan to improve current status, such as diversity training at all levels, series educational as well as inspirational female forums, networking events, women @ Microsoft community, trainings and mentoring programs etc. But we also understand that an inclusive culture, employee and leader’s accountability to diversity, are also very important to the long-term success.
Despite a large number of talented and successful women in the field, why is it that society tends to associate only men with technology?
I think there are several reasons for this. One, it is true that the number of male in IT industry is more than that of female (just that there are more male in engineering/computer studies than female). Secondly, despites there are definitely a good number of successful women in the field, the coverage/stories are not that many and reinforce the myths that this is a male industry.
Do you think one of the reasons for marginalization of women in technology are the social myths such as women are emotional whereas technology is logical, and compared to women, men are better with maths and machines?
Women can be very logical, have good EQ and be strong at maths and sciences. It is just that the social cultural and myths that may kill potential. I remember when I was a student, I heard quite frequently that people were saying boys were stronger at maths & logic, in particular I remember one of my uncles was saying this, “Although you are good at maths now but boys are much better still, so it will be difficult for you to compete when you get to high school or university.”. Thanks to his “discouragement”, I actually changed from a girl school to study in a boy school for my matriculation so that I can prove that girls can be better at maths, and I did. The point I want to make is that we should not stereotype or mold somebody base on their gender, or we are killing a lot of good potential of that person.
One of the myths is about women’s looks: technical women are unattractive, arrogant and abnormal. Your comments on this?
Again, I think it is just some myths and wrong perception. The best way to clear this is to have more positive cases to share with the broader audience.
An internet survey polling over 2557 women working in the technical field found that 56% of women had never been able to wear a skirt to work in any tech industry job because they are afraid of being perceived as unprofessional. Is this a right or wrong perception in the light of your experience?
I wear skirt to work for over 80% of the time.
In the same poll, 70 per cent of the respondents said plain glasses, little or no make up and a tight hair bun helps them if they want their work to be taken seriously. Is this the right approach?
I suggest people to prove their ability through the result of their work and their way of presenting their view and idea. In my opinion, a pleasant and tidy outlook is required for whatever kind of work, then whether you get the trust from your boss, colleagues or customers is by your ability at work in solving problem, getting thing done instead of how you look.
Do the media also play a biased role when it comes to coverage of IT professionals? Most IT magazines go for male CEOs or CIOs or male industry analysts for their stories. Is there a need to ensure that successful women in IT are displayed more regularly? Is there a need for government advocacy in this area?
Yes, with more positive successful women stories will definitely help encourage more young female to join the field. Young people need inspiration and role model to follow. Think about my case, if I really believed in what my uncle had said and stop my pursue in science studies, I would not have my career today. Therefore, we should develop people base on their talent, not the gender, and we all have a social responsibility in nurturing the next generation. Let’s take a positive approach to encourage more young female.
Does lack of networking, compared to the opportunities that men have, also play an enormous role in rendering women in IT invisible?
Well, building a network or community will help develop the next generation. However, I am not a strong advocate in having a female-only network. I think no matter male or female, one need to own the responsibility in reaching out to others, build their social network which should include both male and female.
