Women Who Inspire and Elevate

27 March 2025 / Report

Influential women leaders in Asia are challenging outdated norms and redefining the future of corporate leadership through bold, inclusive practices. They are using their positive influence in boardrooms and the C-Suite to shape organizational policies, cultures and behaviors to build supportive environments within which other women can grow and thrive. This report, based on in-depth interviews with ten influential women leaders across Asia, provides actionable insights for companies to build inclusive organizational cultures and drive sustainable change.

Key Insights

Enabling policies such as parental leave, flexibility, and career breaks to support lifetransition phases, are critical in enabling long-term career progression for women and preventing attrition.
Policies are important but not sufficient to drive change — they must be accompanied by conducive mindsets, cultures, and behavioral shifts.
Senior-level sponsorship is crucial for women’s advancement. Most women we interviewed shared that during their early careers, a senior leader in their company spotted their potential and intentionally provided access to career-enhancing opportunities.
Female champions in boardrooms and the C-Suite can play a pivotal role in influencing policy and culture changes, advocacy, and in holding boards and senior leaders accountable for owning inclusion. They also become powerful role models for other aspiring women.
Successes of women across the company must be celebrated visibly and intentionally – this can be a compelling source of inspiration.
Conventional leadership paradigms that focus on masculine traits alone, must be challenged. Women must be coached and mentored to gain in confidence, walk tall and be unapologetic about their own leadership styles.
The narrative within companies must be moved from “we need more women” to “we need the best talent.” A focus on skills, capability, and merit of talented women (instead of their gender) can change perceptions of women within the company.
Data-driven decision-making can eliminate biases in leadership selection. AI-backed analytics can help uncover overlooked talent (including women) and ensure that leadership pipelines are built on merit rather than visibility or personal networks.
The role of male allies at all levels, continues to be critical. More men need to be enlisted in the discussions and initiatives relating to women’s advancement.