I am originally from Malaysia and have previously worked in China for six years to develop my career. After that I returned to Malaysia to take care of my family. Two years ago, I returned to China, and I am enjoying my personal growth journey in what is now my second home.

Great career opportunities present themselves

Avanade in Greater China expanded its ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) team to help more organizations improve their business processes and core competitiveness. I was honored to join as a team leader – helping our clients re-evaluate their management models and operational efficiencies, and to provide comprehensive data and analysis for the business. This has allowed me to hone and further develop my leadership skills.

My 20-plus years of ERP system experience and accumulated leadership skills has contributed to my ability to manage our team with high efficiency. I work with consultants from Singapore, Malaysia, India and Australia to deliver on client projects with high quality. I also work with external partners to actively explore new local projects. Through the strengthening of my team’s capabilities, I have been able to provide them with invaluable experience and additional growth opportunities.

Breaking the bias at Avanade

In the earlier stages of my career and prior to Avanade, I experienced and witnessed strong bias. For example - when women spoke confidently and openly expressed their opinions during a negotiation, they would have been seen as aggressive. When we bravely pursue our ambition and career goals, people would advise us to put our families first. When we apply for positions in sales, manufacturing and supply chain, people would be prejudiced and assume these positions are better suited for men.

Every time I experienced these biases, I hoped for a more inclusive, diverse and equal workplace. And I found my ideal workplace when I joined Avanade. Here, we reject any bias against age, gender, education background, marital status and nature of work. Avanade has created a workplace where all employees can enjoy equality in growth opportunities and embrace diversity. Everyone can realize their full potential without suppressing their individual uniqueness.

In Avanade’s global training resource library, there are two mandatory courses for all employees: unconscious bias and anti-racism. In addition, all recruiters, hiring managers, management teams and leaders undergo training focused on interviewing with diversity in mind to ensure we break the bias during the recruitment process and increase the number of women employees and leaders.

Building on each other strengths

In my team, there is gender balance. We help each other leverage our individual strengths to reach a common goal. From the women I interact with at work and based on my own experiences, I have a stronger appreciation for the strength of women. The need to balance career and family has strengthened our tenacity, resilience and our ability to handle pressure.

I am often inspired by collaborating with clients. One of my clients has successfully transitioned the internal ERP team to a consultancy business unit with hundreds of employees. They have impressed me with perfect online and offline processes to work with North America, Asia and Europe. In future, I hope to continue to unleash the power of women and build a strong Chinese local team that can provide global support.

I would like to take this opportunity to say to all women: maybe you cannot avoid all the bias in this world, but you can gain strength and sustain continuous advantages by learning new things and challenging yourself.