top of page
UN Women 2021 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards:
Meet the Regional Judges
Animah Kosai
Founder, Speak Up Collective
Speaker, Writer, Disrupter, Corporate Whisperer, Animah Kosai unpacks cultures and systems in organisations - to be safe, inclusive and empowering. A former lawyer, she practised law in Malaysia for 9 years and as corporate counsel with the oil and gas industry for 14. She chaired the Environmental Law Committee under the KL Bar Committee in 2002/3, has kickstarted several civil society groups including CERAH (SEA haze), and leads The Speak Up Collective, a global community of change-makers committed to a safe and inclusive World of Work.
Badrie Abdullah
Founder, Tulips Movement
Through the Tulips Movement, which he founded in June 2019, Badrie has been involved in groundbreaking work in empowering women and young girls and promoting gender equality.
He recently established the TULIPS XP School whose aim is to create and provide opportunities for university students who hail from low income families and underserved communities to venture into rewarding careers for the future of work.
A returning judge for the WEPs Awards, Badrie is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute UK, a University Fellow and currently the Director of Partnership at UNITAR International University.
Betty Yeoh
Founding member of All Women’s Action Society, AWAM.
Betty Yeoh is a Consultant with Engender Consultancy and a co-founder member of All Women’s Action Society (AWAM). Betty is a Trainer and focuses on gender equality, rights and gender-based violence in her training.
Betty has been involved in the promulgation of the Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Harassment Bill. A registered, licensed Counselor, she sees the need to support survivors of violence. Betty has a Master of Counseling
and Bachelor’s degree in Applied Social Science (Counseling) among other
academic qualifications.
Chong Chye Neo
Independent Director, Bursa Malaysia
Prior to serving as Independent Director of Bursa Malaysia, Ms. Chong worked in the IT industry for more than 30 years. In 2015, she was appointed CEO of IBM Malaysia, becoming the first woman to head the company in its then 55-year history in Malaysia. Besides serving on multiple company boards, she continues to contribute to women leadership development through mentoring programs and as a speaker on related topics
Dr. Wong Lai Yong
Board Member, Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC).
As a corporate sustainability promotion consultant and global human resource development instructor, Dr Wong Lai Yong’s approach is based on awakening human consciousness to connection with nature and inclusivity with others. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor & Deputy Center Leader of Center for Sustainability and Innovation (CSI) of Shizenkan University, Japan, a Board Member of Nitto Denko Corporation and Penang Women ’s Development Corporation (Malaysia). In 2016, she was selected as one of the “Asia-Pacific Shining Women” by the Japanese Cabinet Office.
Prof. Dr. Noraida Endut
Professor, Unit for Research on Women and Gender (KANITA), School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
As a corporate sustainability promotion consultant and global human resource development instructor, Dr Wong Lai Yong’s approach is based on awakening human consciousness to connection with nature and inclusivity with others. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor & Deputy Center Leader of Center for Sustainability and Innovation (CSI) of Shizenkan University, Japan, a Board Member of Nitto Denko Corporation and Penang Women ’s Development Corporation (Malaysia). In 2016, she was selected as one of the “Asia-Pacific Shining Women” by the Japanese Cabinet Office.
Dr. Shanthi Thambiah
Associate Professor, Gender Studies, Universiti Malaya.
Dr. Shanthi Thambiah is based at the Gender Studies Programme, University of Malaya. Her research interests are situated in the fields of Social Anthropology and Gender Studies with a focus on gender and work and public policies. She is a recipient of the Asian Public Intellectual Award at the University of Kyoto; Visiting Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore; Fulbright Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, and Senior Visiting Fellow at the South East Asia Centre, London School of Economics.
Sharmila Ravindran
Principal, Messrs Ravindran & Board Advisor, Lean In Malaysia.
Principal, Messrs Ravindran & Board Advisor, Lean In Malaysia.
2020 Judges
bottom of page