As Cambodia’s financial
technology sector continues to experience rapid growth, Khmer Times reporter Harrison
White sat
down with TrueMoney’s Chief Strategy Officer Frandara
(Dara) Khuon to discuss the importance of female participation and leadership KT: Dara,
can you please describe your journey to becoming a leading woman within
Cambodia’s financial technology sector?
Frandara: I started
my career in the local hotel industry working in sales and marketing during the
late 1990s and early 2000s. Then, in 2005, when the newly-formed Australian and
Cambodian bank ANZ Royal was created I was approached to work as a merchant
sales manager. From there I was selected to travel to both Australia and the
Philippines to learn many different aspects of the banking sector.
Returning to Cambodia I was able to use this
experience to assist many local customers who had never used a formal banking
system before and introduce them to financial services such as deposit
accounts, ATMs and digital transactions.
After six years I decided to shift away from
traditional banking and into the digital sector with one of my major visions
being to drive financial inclusion to improve the life of Cambodia’s many
unbanked population.
While things have somewhat changed now,
during those early years I was also having to navigate through a predominantly
male environment and using my independent style I have been able to gain
momentum within the organisation to achieve the position I have today.
KT: Why is it important that there is strong female participation
working in the local financial technology sector?
Frandara: In the
context of Cambodia, women have a very strong role in looking after the family
and its finances. From this, a financial organisation must have a strong number
of women within its workforce who understand this market, as well as providing
their own life experiences for the benefit of the company.
In addition, I also believe that women have a very strong eye for detail and
are, more often, more disciplined then men in day-to-day tasks at work.
For example, when I run an event or workshop
and I give this task to one of my female staff I can be assured that every
detail will be well thought out. However, if I was to give this task to one of
my male staff members most often they will not think about the small details.
That said, overall high levels of female
participation mean the organisation can provide a true gender balance in its
workforce which allows both genders to truly complement each other. In the end,
this ability to complement each other is the most important part of female
participation.
KT: What are some of the barriers that women have or continue to
face when entering the industry and how can the sector help to overcome this?
Frandara: As I previously
mentioned, women have and are still expected in Cambodia to look after the
family and household duties and these responsibilities have not really changed
despite women also now having to enter the workforce and help with the family
income. So, in turn, many women can struggle with the large burden of full-time
work, as well as being a mother, wife and head of a household.
In response, I believe the industry can best support young women through
promoting strong female role models that can show the next generation that it
is possible to achieve corporate success and have a sustainable and fulfilling
family life too.
To prove this, one of the industry’s
most-respected role models is the National Bank of Cambodia’s Director-General
Chea Serey. She is an example of a woman who has been able to achieve
tremendous change to the central bank’s digital banking agenda, as well as to
diversify herself through having a strong family and hobbies such as being an
accomplished artist.
KT: TrueMoney has around 40 percent of women in its workforce.
How was this achieved and what can be done to ensure this is maintained and
grown in the future?
Frandara: TrueMoney is an
equal opportunity employer and has not implemented any specific initiatives,
such as gender-based hiring policies to achieve its gender-balance success.
Instead, we have adapted our workplace to ensure that we assist women in
applying for leadership positions within the company.
In addition, the overall pool of female
applicants applying for the roles we offer has also increased organically as
more women are completing higher education and more role models are promoted in
the industry.
Looking to the future I believe that if other
companies want to achieve a gender-balanced workforce like TrueMoney they need
to most importantly empower their female staff at the leadership level.
Promoting and empowering strong female leaders is by far the most effective way
of achieving a true gender-balance goal at any company.
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