They say there’s no such thing as a superwoman. But these incredible ladies have put paid to that—from Rose Foundation’s Prof Dr Woo Yin Ling and her team’s mission to eradicate cervical cancer in Malaysia to our March 2023 cover personalities, activists Rekha Sen and Suriani Kempe who championed the fight of Malaysian mothers to confer citizenship rights on their overseas-born children.

We also saw Malaysian women doing spectacular things in the international arena, including Johor-born engineer Florence Tan’s efforts to make NASA friendlier for new mothers and Malaysian producer and screenwriter Adele Lim, whose directorial debut Joy Ride made waves in Hollywood this year. Of course, who can forget the big screen win celebrated by Malaysians everywhere all at once when Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh took home an Oscar for Best Actress in March this year, the first Asian to win in this category in the Oscars’ 95-year history.

Kicking off International Women's Day this year was our first ever Front & Female Awards 2023 in Malaysia, which honoured six amazing women championing the progress and advancement of women in the nation. In May, we proudly hosted our first Front & Female panel talk and luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, in partnership with Boston Consulting Group Malaysia, themed ‘Ways of working that work for women’, where we heard engaging insights from speakers that included former deputy minister of Women, Family and Community Development Hannah Yeoh, BCG Malaysia managing director and partner Nurlin Mohd Salleh, Hong Leong Investment Bank CEO Lee Jim Leng, and GoGet founder and CEO Francesca Chia, in a talk moderated by documentary filmmaker and MyDocs executive director Lina Teoh.

Thanks to the unfailing support of Johnnie Walker Malaysia, we also had the chance to celebrate the women who inspire us through a series of unique dinner and whisky pairing evenings at Akar Dining and Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill. To end the year with an upbeat fundraising initiative, Front & Female joined forces with renowned squash icon Datuk Nicol David for a squash masterclass and fireside chat in November.

Whether it's stories of women making it to the top of male-dominated fields or female activists raising awareness for gender equality in their respective spaces, we love reading about the incredible efforts of those across the region and internationally. Earlier this year, Front & Female caught up with the Internet-famous Kimono Mom (also known as Moe) who shares her story of being a secondary school dropout during her Hong Kong visit in March 2023. We also had the privilege of speaking to female surfers from the Philippines to India who are using surfing to raise awareness for sustainability, gender equality, body positivity and more.

Even in the historically male-dominated world of Bollywood, the recent decade has seen films led by women playing strong and inspiring characters, changing the history of Indian cinema in this riveting read featuring Alia Bhatt and other trailblazing Bollywood actresses who landed strong roles in the Hindi film industry. We also spoke with Joanna Broughton, the woman leading Truefitt & Hill and the global executive director of the oldest barbershop in the world.

From industry pioneers to board members of top listed companies in the nation, we’ve encountered several women leaders who have climbed the ranks in the corporate world, going above and beyond to pull other women up alongside them.

These include the first licensed Malay female stockbroker in Malaysia, Tan Sri Dato’ Paduka Tengku Noor Zakiah Tengku Ismail, who co-founded Kenanga Investment Bank; Chryseis Tan who was made executive director on Berjaya Corp’s first all-female board in March this year, Boston Consulting Group managing director and mother of four Nurlin Mohd Salleh, and Sarah Chen-Spellings, who is using her influential voice to address the barriers that hold female founders back in the world of venture capitalism.

In February, we spoke with Shirmy Chan of Bar Terumi, one of Malaysia’s few female-owned bars, on her advice for other female bar-tenders. We also caught up with wellness entrepreneur Diane Chia to learn about her egg-freezing journey and the obstacles she had to overcome through this under-discussed women’s health procedure in Malaysia. 

Ahead of the launch of her tech startup, Wahine Capital, former Nomura Asset Management Malaysia managing director Rejina Rahim clued us in on why she left corporate life to found a startup that lets women take ownership of their financial wellbeing. And in conjunction with the Women’s Aid Organisation’s 40th anniversary this year, we sat down with the female-led NGO’s four millennial directors, Charlene Murray, Nazreen Nizam, Amnani Abdul Kadir and Abinaya Dhivya Mohan, who are carrying the torch to help survivors of abuse and end gender-based violence in Malaysia. 

In August, we also spoke with the musicians of award-winning gamelan theatre troupe, Rhythm in Bronze, a pioneering women-led musical group who balances the fine line between the traditional and the contemporary in this exclusive interview. Another stand-out personality from our August print issue was Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman associate professor Dr Phaik Kin Cheah, a lance corporal in the Royal Malaysia Police Volunteer Reserve.

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