The Future is Female

Melisa Idris speaks to Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Siti Zuraina Abdul Majid, Malaysia’s first professionally-trained archaeologist, who, in 1991, discovered the 11,000-year-old Perak Man-the oldest human skeleton discovered in Malaysia. Professor Siti Zuraina was recently accorded the 2022 Merdeka Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement. The Merdeka Awards recognises individuals and organisat...

Melisa Idris speaks to Yap Yann Fang, Founder & CEO of Beauty & Co, a beauty and wellness co-working space. They discuss the evolution of the bursary services industry and how to make it more inclusive and responsible.

Melisa Idris speaks to Mastura M. Rashid, Vice President of Impact Malaysia, about empowering young people to bring meaningful and lasting change in their communities, and to be informed citizens fully engaged in the democratic process.

Many parents find they have few options when it comes to childcare-often limited by cost, proximity, operating hours, etc. In a bid to provide parents with more choices, Kiddocare was founded in 2018 with the aim of connecting parents with trained child-carers. Melisa Idris speaks to Muhaini Mahmud, co-founder of Kiddocare about how the on-demand babysitting platform is creating a win-win situatio...

Organisations can no longer opt-out from integrating sustainability and ESG principles into their strategies — it has gone from being a functional requirement to a commercial imperative. Melisa Idris speaks to ESG & sustainability advocate, Ahila Ganesan, Founder of Future LinQ. She is also the Special Advisor to the London-based ESG Foundation. They also discuss Ahila’s work in sustainable ur...

Malaysia has made it mandatory for all Public Listed Companies on Bursa Malaysia to have at least one woman director by January next year, with the goal of achieving a minimum of 30% Gender Balance at all senior decision-making tables across Malaysia, including Boards and c-Suite. Melisa Idris speaks to Christina Foo, Independent Director and Fellow with the Institute of Corporate Directors Malays...

Every day 3,000 tonnes of edible food is thrown away in Malaysia - enough to feed 10 million people daily. The Lost Food Project helps to rescue an average of 10 tonnes of food per week from going to landfills. Melisa Idris speaks to Suzanne Mooney, founder of The Lost Food Project to better understand the scale of food waste and the role we each can play in addressing this issue. Suzanne Mooney i...

Non-executive workers make up 75% of Malaysia's workforce but they are sorely underserved in the recruitment process. Melisa Idris speaks to Joelle Pang, General Manager of FastJobs Malaysia, about its role in helping to connect entry-level and non-executive job-seekers to prospective employers.

Melisa Idris speaks to the only Malaysian to make history as a 5-time gold winner at the World Masters Swimming Championships, Cindy Ong.

In an age of fast fashion and mass production, the value of artisanship has become vastly under-appreciated, putting craft legacies at risk. The dream of preserving heritage crafts for generations to come was precisely why the Dia Guild was founded -- a platform where Southeast Asian labels and craft could be introduced to, and appreciated by, a global market. Melisa Idris speaks to one of the co-...

On most of those ‘important days’ in our life, flowers are usually around -- weddings and anniversaries, births and deaths, Mothers’ Day and Valentine’s Day. Roses are red, but not very ‘green’. The truth is, there is an environmental cost with every bouquet of flowers. Melisa Idris speaks to Brenda James, Founder and Principal Florista of Nook Flowers, a boutique floral design firm doing its best...

As we enter the third year of living and working during a pandemic, navigating the changes in workplace dynamics and values hasn’t seemed to get any easier. Melisa Idris speaks to organisational psychologist Hetal Doshi, CEO of O Psych, about ways to  cope with, and adapt to, the changes occurring at the workplace, and within the workforce.

Malaysia’s first Women’s Tribunal, organised by the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) and Engender Consultancy, is set to take place online on the 27th and 28th of November. Melisa Idris speaks to co-conveners of Women’s Tribunal Malaysia 2021 Meera Samanther and Wathshlah Naidu about the virtual tribunal, and the importance of holding space for women to share stories of the violations...

Screening and early detection of breast cancer remain a challenge in Malaysia, mainly due to a lack of awareness of symptoms and sociocultural barriers. The ‘Know Your Lemons’ campaign uses lemons as a stand-in for the breast — helping bypass communication barriers of literacy, taboo, embarrassment, and fear. On ‘Thr Future Is Female’ Melisa Idris speaks to Corrine Ellsworth-Beaumont, CEO and Foun...

According to UNICEF, younger children are more likely to be abused by a family member or caregiver. How can we help equip our children with education and empowerment over their body safety, consent and personal boundaries? Parenting platform Makchic has published a children’s book titled: ‘​​What If?’ in hopes of generating greater awareness about child sexual abuse prevention in Malaysia. Melisa...

Melisa Idris speaks to documentary & sports photographer Annice Lyn, who co-founded Women Photographers Malaysia, which is a collective that aims to develop an inclusive culture through visual storytelling. Annice shares her experiences in covering the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and working with Malaysian artist Red Hong Yi to shoot the cover of TIME magazine's  'Climate is Everything' April 2021 is...

Certified dietitian & nutritionist, Adele Wong, founder of Nutrition Track, is passionate about translating complex nutrition science into ways that can help us make good evidence-based health and nutrition choices. Melisa Idris speaks to Adele about developing a healthy relationship with food, building good nutritional habits, and the changing nutritional needs of women throughout our life st...

Melisa Idris speaks to Raudhah Nazran, CEO & Founder of the youth-focused social enterprise, Accelerate Global, about tackling youth unemployment by championing upskilling and entrepreneurship.

Melisa Idris speaks to Dr Siti Noraida Habibullah, founder of Little Steps, a charity organisation which hosts many humanitarian projects including Klinik Amal Muhajir, a clinic in Serdang that solely serves the needs of refugees in the area.

Melisa Idris speaks to Murni Wan Mohd Nor, hate speech researcher & Senior lecturer at Universiti Putra Malaysia about why hate speech is more than just hurt feelings and can bring real harm to communities. Hate speech may be taught but it can be unlearned, including learning to disagree with civility & respect.

Melisa Idris speaks to Wan Nadiah Wan Mohd Abdullah Yaakob, Group CEO of TMC Life Sciences & CEO of Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara about how she manages the complexities of hospital administration amidst a pandemic.

Melisa Idris speaks to Alina Amir, co-founder of Arus Academy, a local social enterprise that aims to equip Malaysian students with critical thinking and problem-solving skills necessary for the digital age.

On this episode of The Future Is Female, Melisa Idris speaks to global entrepreneurial academic Professor Loredana Padurean, Associate Dean & Faculty Director for Action Learning at Asia School of Business, established in collaboration with MIT Sloan. 

Melisa Idris speaks to author Mohana Gill about her passion advocating for wellness & longevity through food and nutritious eating. Mohana is the first Malaysian to be awarded 7 ‘Best in the World’ titles by Gourmand for her cookbooks.

On this episode of the #TheFutureIsFemale, Melisa Idris speaks to Datin Elya Lim Abdullah, one of the trustees at OrphanCare, about the NGO’s ethos that ‘no child should be denied family life because of circumstances’. They discuss deinstitutionalisation, which is the process of transitioning children raised in orphanages and children’s homes into families and community-based care.