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.