COUNTRY FOCUS : VIETNAM
workloads and low Internet penetration rate . But Ha toiled away not minding if the work was hard or easy . businesses . This includes environmental protection , reducing CO 2 and green manufacturing processes .
Chu Thi Thanh Ha , chairwoman of FPT Software
“ I was not afraid to knock on every door to market computers and IT equipment ,” she reflects . “ I even crawled under desks to install computers for customers , anxiously waiting for the Internet connection signal to the computer .”
Over time she has seen huge change in the role of women in IT . “ Back in the early 1990s when I attended a conference in Singapore , there were very few women in the hall . But in recent years , the number of women at such technical events has increased dramatically .”
Similarly , at FPT , the share of women is now 39 %, compared to 36 % a decade ago . “ This represents progress in our organization towards encouragement and motivation of women in the IT field ,” Ha says .
One role she has noticed senior women taking on in new tech is creating sustainable growth for their
Even so , Asian women have fewer opportunities , she says . “ In North America and Europe , there are more female leaders , and they also hold higher positions .”
The trend towards working from home during the pandemic has added to challenges for women . “ They have to fix their internal clock and sleep schedule while maintaining their own health and taking care of their family ,” said Ha . “ It is hard , but we have to sort things out and try to adapt , there ’ s no other way .”
Compared with other industries , there is now less of a gender divide in IT , Ha says . In fact , one of FPT Software ’ s big automotive customers said that it chose to work with FPT Software partly because the company has a chairwoman .
“ They explained that women leaders are better at risk management , which is extremely important during the global crisis ,” said Ha . “ The key to success here is to know where your strengths are , to focus on and nurture them to perform better at work .”
Driving Digital Transformation
The biggest challenge in driving global Digital Transformation and IT services , says Ha , is
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