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GLOBAL trend: Brain over Brawn.  For thousands of years, the world, by and large, belonged to men. There were a few exceptions. It had been a men’s exclusive domain. Not because men are cleverer or more intelligent. The only reason was simply that the creator has made men stronger physically.

Men could hunt better, could bring food on food on the table. The muscle mattered! But no longer. The shift to women’s power in the world economy has been dramatic.

In the last 50 years, the world has gone through a rapid transformation to “Brain over Brawn”. It is not that men do not have brain. It is just that men have not realised that muscle is counting less and less.

Women, on the other hand have capitalized on their brain and have adopted to the new environments where brain has become overwhelmingly important, like in high-tech, service industry [especially banking, finance, tourism] and all levels of corporate managements.

Men’s attitude, their ways of doing things, have been overtaken by the development of high tech, greater demand for transparency, reliability and trustworthiness in the corporate environment in particular and society at large. Increasingly, major corporations with women in the board rooms around the world have scored higher governance credibility. 

Women, by and large, are more hard working and above all, more trust worthy and more forthright.

Why women are gaining ground on men rapidly?

Today’s world, complex, digital, and hyper-connected, runs on a system that rewards collaboration, empathy, and social intelligence. Muscle power is rapidly out of relevance except on construction sites and in traditional societies.

Here is why the leadership landscape has been shifting so decisively in the last few decades:

Availability of Equality in education opportunities.

Women have been out-earning men in university degrees for roughly four decades in many parts of the world. We are now seeing the results of this “education revolution” of equality impacting senior corporate management, board rooms, civil service and political levels in advance countries. High performing countries like China, Singapore, Malaysia have benefited. In Malaysia Tengku Maimum [another Iron Lady] is our best example. The no nonsense Chief Justice. The very best!!!! 

Even Japan which had favoured males in all its history, has elected a female PM for the first time. She has just won the biggest majority in the recent election.

Sabah has been tardy in benefiting from women power. We need to catch up. 

Not to frighten the men. It is a fact: In most developed and many developing economies, women don’t just graduate at higher rates; they often do so with higher honours, creating a massive pool of-qualified women talent. 

Please see 3 charts at right. They are self-explanatory. Women are out performing men and dominant in new fields.

Men’s stye of “Command and Control” is grossly irrelevant!! Outdated.

The Chinese saying is best: 劳心者治 [Láoxīn zhě zhì rén, láolì zhě zhì yú rén]

Literal translation: “Those who work with their minds govern others; those who work with their strength are governed by others.” The women are working with their brains!

The traditional “alpha” or “he-man” leadership style [top-down, aggressive, unilateral] can’t cope in the modern, high tech work environment.

Modern organizations require Emotional Intelligence [EQ] to retain talent. Studies consistently show that women-led teams report higher engagement, productivity and result oriented.

Women’s ability to empathise is higher than men, more appropriate for the fast-emerging global high-tech economy. Women are better equipped emotionally to navigate the diverse global markets and understanding the complexity of the modern workforce.

Women have outperformed men in service and tech economy

The “Brute Force” economy [heavy manufacturing, manual labour] has been eclipsed by the Knowledge and Service Economy. Or taken over by robots and AI!

In sectors like healthcare, education, and professional services, communication and “soft skills” are the primary drivers of revenue women are taking over.

Even in the latest high tech, the rise of AI means that “technical coding” is being automated, making human-centric design and ethical oversight in areas where women often excel.

Women are more resilient in Crisis

Numerous studies and data from the early 2020s [including the pandemic era] highlighted that women leaders often managed high-uncertainty crises with better outcomes in public health and social stability. 

Institutional Rebalancing [ESG & DEI].

This is for Sabah’s policy decision makers to ponder on seriously. 

Gender balance isn’t just a social goal anymore; it’s a financial KPI. Major institutional investors [like BlackRock or Khazanah] now factor diversity into their risk assessments.

Companies with gender-balanced boards are statistically proven to have better governance and fewer major and unforeseen failures, leading to a natural selection of women into top roles to protect the bottom line.

Women’s contribution to family income is rapidly increasing.

Believe you me. Sabah must expedite implementation a holistic policy for women’s role ASAP. See what is happening in the other countries in the chart bottom right:

A holistic women policy is imperative for Sabah’s progress in the new global order. Or Sabah will lose out big time. 

Azizah Mohd Dun has taken over the baton of leadership to empower Sabah women. 

Her effort is bearing positive results. Azizah is the most influential political voice for women in Sabah now. She has been a consistent and passionate advocate for women’s representation in Sabah. 

Sabah has had many outstanding past and present women leaders. There is no lacking of women leaders in Sabah. For Sabah to progress meaningfully in the new world, Sabah’s women policy must go beyond tokenism. The policy must have substance over form. It must have teeth! There should be a full-fledged women ministry.

A holistic women policy in Sabah is not a concession, not a favour from men. It is an economic reality necessitated by global shift in gender balance. 

Lest we forget, women are the bedrock of the family, they are much more concerned for the future of their children and increasingly so, the anchors of our society and economy. This trend is irreversible.

What will speed up Sabah women’s progress is a holistic government policy for women’s substantive participation in the civil service, economy, GLCs [Board and senior management], DUN and politics. 

The critical objective of this policy is to empower women in the participation of major policy decisions and their implementations.

 A holistic women policy can fit into Hajiji’s inclusive government perfectly.

Hajiji is CM for all Sabahans [this includes women!]. As Hajiji’s restructuring and transformation of the Sabah economy have achieved impressive progress in SMJ 1 and are well underway in SMJ2, it is perfect timing now for Azizah and her team to produce a proposal for this holistic women policy for inclusion in SMJ2.

The youths have done it through SYBIL, the professionals have done it through SPC [Sabah Professional Council] and the lawyers have shown their commitment/dedication for Sabah through The Sabah Law Reform Council under the chairmanship of Tan Sri David Wong. 

The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: Forum@dailyexpress.com.my