Get out of your comfort zone, Rosmah tells women

KUALA LUMPUR: The prime minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor yesterday urged women in the country to get out of their “comfort zone” in order to advance further in their career.

Rosmah said the women community often held themselves back despite having the critical intrinsic abilities, and despite the support given them to take up leadership roles in many areas outside of their homes.

“Not all barriers facing women can be attributed to the glass ceiling imposed by the traditional workplace. Women often hold themselves back from advancement with self-imposed barriers.

“Many women, too, decline to be in senior positions in corporations not because they are incapable, but because they want greater work-life balance,” she said at the Asean Young Women Leadership Conference (AYWLC) 2015, held at Seri Pacific Hotel here yesterday.

Citing an article in Forbes Women (August 2014 issue) by Zeynap Ilgaz, Rosmah said women are held back in their workplace for several reasons, namely:

- The fear of failure, where young women fear workplace missteps will cost them their job, reputation and success

- Fear that employers will view themselves as vulnerable, inefficient or not motivated if they decide to start a family

- Inferiority complex, where women still believe that men are better leaders and more equipped for success.

Rosmah also stressed the need to further emphasise new work structures and “family-friendly” policies to assist women in their working lives. –