International Women's Day at Owen Mumford

Today marks International Women’s Day (IWD) – celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women to support inclusive work cultures where their careers thrive, and their achievements are celebrated. 

As a global business and local employer, we foster an inclusive workplace and opportunities to learn and grow are available to all our associates across all parts of the business. This helps us recruit and retain a diverse workforce and create an environment where our associates can bring their best and truest selves to work. By doing this we can be more innovative and continue to deliver quality healthcare solutions that make a positive difference to our customers and users. 

Our leadership and management pathway training programme is now in its second year and plays a key role in creating an inclusive environment. It provides consistent education, tools, and support to associates on topics including gender equality, unconscious bias and diversity in the workplace. With a large part of our workforce being engineers, we are very active in promoting gender parity in STEM subjects. In the UK where our head office is located, we work closely with local schools and colleges to offer support and guidance to students looking to pursue a career in the STEM arena. We talk to them about the early career sponsorships we offer, especially to women who join our team. This and other market-specific initiatives that we run throughout our global operations, allows us to monitor and continually improve policies that promote gender equality across our global network. 

This year we are celebrating International Women’s Day by catching up with some of our associates to find out more about their professional journey and hear what it’s like working in our environment. 

Stephanie Caulfield – Head of Human Resources, United Kingdom 
“Whilst companies should always hire and promote the best person for the role, concessions should be given for gaps in CVs and careers where women have taken the primary caring responsibilities, or alternative methods of assessment when returning from periods of leave. At Owen Mumford, we have implemented policies that do just that – supporting mothers while they are away from work and when they return.”

Stephanie has worked at Owen Mumford for two years, leading the human resource operations, recruitment, payroll and learning and development programmes. Working alongside the executive and senior management teams, Stephanie ensures our people offering makes us an employer of choice, positions the right people in the right roles to meet our strategic aims and ensures we have legal compliance, opportunities for growth and a strong workplace culture. Stephanie uses her pivotal position within HR to ensure family friendly policies are in place and ensure that women always have leadership development opportunities. Key to this is encouraging flexible working arrangements, flexi-time, home working and compressed or condensed working patterns to support a balance between work and family commitments.

Ang Wooi Ming – Assistant Regulatory Affairs Manager, Malaysia 
“By prioritising gender equality, companies can not only promote a more equitable and just workplace, but also improve overall business performance by tapping into the full potential of their associates.”

Working within our regulatory team for five years, Ang’s main responsibility is to ensure that our products comply with government regulations. She guarantees our medical devices are introduced into the market in compliance with local regulations, helping to expand our global reach and improving patient access to life-enhancing medical solutions. Ang recognises that each member of her team brings unique skills, experiences, and perspectives to the table that contribute to a more efficient and effective quality management system. To promote equal opportunity within the workplace Ang believes that companies should establish a clear criteria for success in leadership roles and ensure that these are based on job-related skills and experience rather than gender or other non-job-related factors.

Eugene Pang – Supply Chain Manager, Malaysia 
“By creating a supportive environment, we can help women balance their work and family responsibilities without negatively impacting their career growth.”

With five years of service at Owen Mumford Malaysia, our supply chain manager, Eugene, oversees and optimises end-to-end supply chain operations, ensuring the timely delivery of products to our customers. From her experience of working in quality, regulatory and supply chain, she feels fortunate to be in a leadership role today and is thankful for the lessons she has learned from her long career, previous leaders, and own initiatives. She says these have taught her the importance of taking ownership of her work, being accountable for her actions, and continuously seeking opportunities to learn and improve. She believes that by doing this, you gain confidence in your abilities and can prepare yourself for a leadership role. Additionally, there is an onus on the senior management teams to push for diversity and inclusivity in leadership positions and encourage senior leaders to mentor and support women in their career advancement. 

Leanne Adam – Marketing Manager, United Kingdom
“Gender equality is of paramount importance where businesses aim to improve productivity and growth and research shows that inclusive teams make better business decisions up to 87% of the time(1).”

For over eight years Leanne has been leading our marketing and sales activities in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland regions. An experienced marketeer with over her 20-years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, her positions have covered brand and in-country marketing management positions which have been greatly influenced by supportive managers both male and female. Leanne is passionate about people development within her team and has applauded the opportunities at Owen Mumford that have been presented and achieved for personal and career development. Leanne believes that everyone has a voice, and each person brings value and personal experience to the table, regardless of gender. 

Shirley Loh - MA Regional Managing Director OMM, Malaysia

“I would encourage young females to pay more attention to their career and not be too afraid to accept new and exciting challenges.” 

The beating heart of our team at Owen Mumford Malaysia, Shirley Loh is our Regional Managing Director and is pivotal in managing the successful operations of our business in the Asia-Pacific region. As a key member of our management team, Shirley sees herself as a mediator in many circumstances, resolving conflicts, bringing new ideas and perspectives, and creating a cohesive and efficient production environment. Shirley understands the added pressures women face when raising a family and how it can affect career advancement, and she even remembers herself in the early stages of her career, putting off certain positions that were more challenging and demanding of her time because of having to raise a young family. Ultimately, she sees a mix of flexible working practices and ambition from women all over the world as the way forward, as women can adapt and excel in any given circumstance. 
 

References: 

(1)Larson, E. (2022) New research: Diversity + inclusion = Better Decision Making at work, Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriklarson/2017/09/21/new-research-diversity-inclusion-better-decision-making-at-work/?sh=64e353cc4cbf (Accessed: March 7, 2023).