On the 1st of June, I had the pleasure of attending a collective panel of amazing women across Malaysia on Women Moving Forward in Healthcare, Sports & STEM. It was a very last-minute decision for me to attend so I was extremely nervous.

The panel session was held at Microsoft’s office which was surprisingly colourful and cozy. I arrived an hour early and sat beside the refreshments table, thinking to myself, if I were to be awkward, at least I could do it sitting down here with a cup of tea in my hand. Soon enough I was joined by a fashionably dressed petite young lady who said she too was pitter-pattering around awkwardly.

But why am I even bothering to talk about this?

Tania, the young lady who sat beside me, writes for the Tatler Asia. She writes more about lifestyle and I well, I write on gaming, but we found a common ground. We bonded over the fact that growing up for us wasn’t easy when it came to beauty standards. We’re both tanned, with curly hair and that was not what the beauty standards were set at back when I was a kid, which was over 20 years ago. We talked about how we’ve definitely evolved and become more inclusive of different skin colours, body types, etc. I shared with her about how it made me happy that my favourite game, Apex Legends, added an Indian character to the game awhile ago, Rampart (Ramya Parekh), and one of her legendary skins is a classic traditional outfit.

Honestly growing up in a space where the internet is just widespread, I’d never dream that something like this would be in a video game when I was younger. Back then, women were so sexualized in games. There was a specific stereotype that the industry catered to. It’s one of the many reasons why I love games like Apex Legends and Overwatch. The inclusivity, the diversity. It gives everyone a voice. But enough about that, I want to talk about the lovely panel that truly inspired me while I was there.

First, let’s talk about LeadWomen, an organization that strives to ensure that workplaces and boardrooms are diverse, equitable and inclusive for all to thrive and succeed fairly. They run several programmes to empower women to grow and meet their full potential. The panel featured Deepti Saraf, the General Manager of Roche Malaysia, Sarina Sundara Rajah, a gymnast who has represented our country in the SEA games,  Asian games, Commonwealth games, and well, she’s got a whole lot of achievements under her belt, but she is also the Founding President of Safe Sport Malaysia.

Then we have our very own Sophie Azlan, who as we all know and love here at Kakuchopurei. She is a game developer, a lecturer and has won pretty much an Oscar for gaming. The moderator of the day was Freda Liu, is a global speaker, a broadcast journalist, an emcee. Well, she has a lot going under her name, but to put it plainly, she is a powerhouse and she commands the attention of everyone in the room when she speaks.

On Harassment & Inequality

A recurring theme we see when it comes to women in the workforce, or in any industry for that matter, is harassment, whether it’s sexual, verbal. Harassment occurs, and why has it become a norm? We’re really not taken seriously, even in the gaming space. Something Sarina mentioned really stayed with me. “Malaysians are more reactive than proactive.” Why are we not doing more to prevent things and instead waiting for things to happen first before thinking about ways of prevention? We don’t really have to do much. Having conversations is more than enough and something achievable that everybody can participate in.

Sophie mentioned that yes, it’s wonderful being up here, championing us women. But really, what she wants most of all is to be recognized for her achievements, not just as a woman in her industry, but for the fact that she’s done so much more for the industry than what a lot of people have. I think this is something all women can relate to. In gaming, if you’re a woman, I’m sure you can resonate with me when I say speaking in game can be pretty terrifying, especially if it’s in a competitive environment. And when we do speak, it goes two ways. People either start acting “simpy”, a good example of this is sometimes players are happy to “drop” weapons for us women.

And on the other spectrum, people get hostile. “Go back to the kitchen.” YES. This still happens.

As someone who plays competitive games, I wish people would treat me normally. I’m just a gamer, trying to play games, trying to enjoy the same games that everyone else is playing. There’s so much we can expand on, and so much we can talk about, but I’m not here to lecture you or to accuse you of anything. I’m just a gamer. I just want to be seen as just that. A gamer.

The day ended when we all sat at different tables, representing different industries where we talked about ways we can solve the current issues we face. We definitely have a long way to go, but we have to start somewhere. The experience as I said, was something I did not expect. I wish more women would have the same opportunity that I did to attend something similar to this. With that, I leave you something that stayed with me from this session.

“Give more power to our dreams than our fears.” – Deepti Saraf, General Manager of Roche Malaysia.