PROFESSIONAL women often reach a stage in their careers where they need more than networking to decide their next step, says Professional Women’s Network Kuala Lumpur (PWN KL) president Jasmin Peters.
She said many women, especially mid-career ones, were weighing whether to stay on their current paths, move into another field or look for opportunities beyond Malaysia.
This, she said, was why PWN KL relaunched – to provide women with a community where they could seek guidance, build contacts and learn from others at different stages of their careers.
“A lot of women we speak to, especially when they are mid-career, say they do not have a community or association where they can have someone to coach and mentor them.
“They ask themselves: ‘Do I continue on this trajectory? Or do I pivot my career? What does that path look like for me?’”
Peters said PWN KL was first established in 2016 but became dormant during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said the relaunch was timely as PWN Global had also undergone rebranding, with a new logo, purpose and direction.
The Kuala Lumpur network, she said, gave members access to connect with more than 3,500 professional women across 29 city networks globally.
Peters said PWN KL was established to support women across a wider career spectrum, including those still building their leadership path.
She noted that many women’s associations focused on those already in senior leadership, including C-suite leaders, those moving into C-suite roles or women preparing for board positions.
She said PWN was primarily for professional women, although entrepreneurs were also welcome.
She highlighted that the aim was to help members broaden their outlook, form meaningful connections and gain access to coaching and mentoring locally or abroad.
“We want to give our members the option of choosing where and how to work, beyond geographies and beyond industry.
“You can connect, have coaching and mentoring locally or abroad and position yourself professionally.”
She said members could also take part in programmes that allowed them to share their expertise and be featured as speakers on topics they were familiar with.
The relaunch was held during the PWN Kuala Lumpur Women Leadership Series in conjunction with Mothers Day.
The event was attended by some 70 guests, comprising architects, lawyers, financial services professionals, consultants, recruitment company representatives and headhunters.
The event, themed “Where Women Leaders Pause, Reflect & Rise”, featured a fireside chat titled “Wired to Lead: Hormones, Health & High Performance”.
The session featured Dr Shilpa Nambiar, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Prince Court Medical Centre, and Caleen Chua, a transformation and mindfulness coach and former chief executive officer of Chakri food and beverage.
The session brought together two different perspectives, with Dr Shilpa speaking from a medical and scientific viewpoint while Chua spoke from the wellness and mind-body connection perspective.
Peters said PWN KL planned to hold monthly “catalyst conversations” and quarterly leadership exchange sessions.
“Everything ties back to leadership.”
She said coaching and mentoring would be among the association’s main offerings.
She explained that coaching would help members deal with workplace challenges, while mentoring would take a broader view of career and leadership growth.
The association is also exploring youth programmes and executive programmes with universities.
PWN KL is looking at partnerships with companies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), chambers of commerce, government agencies and universities.
Peters said such partnerships were needed to turn the association’s plans into practical opportunities for members.
“As an association, we can have the framework, the sessions and the members.
“We can bridge it for you, but ultimately we need partnerships to make it happen.”
She said PWN KL was taking a conservative approach to recruitment, with a target of 50 members this year.
Peters said the association wanted to focus on delivering value before expanding its membership base.
