During last year’s International Women’s Day celebrations, we profiled Kagi Lau, our Operations Director for Global Services (GS) in the APAC region. Kagi was one of the driving forces behind shaping the team that as of last year, featured the highest level of female representation within our business, with women working across leadership, operational and technical roles. So, what’s changed a year later?
The increase in women working in technical roles is a trend that is set to continue, with the APAC Global Services team extending its presence by restructuring the team in Singapore. The result of this is that Kinly now has a true APAC model with a full-service team including Project Managers, Project Engineers, a Sales Manager, Subject Matter Experts and Client Services Managers. In addition, the APAC team has also bolstered operations in India with further project management and engineering resources, including Kinly India’s first female Project Manager.
This is an exciting time for APAC Global Services and Kagi has led from the front throughout the hiring process to ensure the best people are recruited for each role. Kagi’s methodology for hiring is based on values, mindset and personality to unlock potential and ensure the perfect fit for Kinly. As part of the team extending in the APAC region and adding new resources, Kagi is now required to travel from Hong Kong to Singapore more often and is also planning a visit to the India team later this year. For Kagi and the GS team, the increase in face-to-face communication will only benefit operations as they look to drive enhanced collaboration across the business and with colleagues.
Last year, Kagi explained how GS APAC clients are receiving female support at every touch point including business development, technical design, project management, client services and maintenance. This new approach to business proved popular with clients who regularly commented how refreshing it was to see women leading major AV projects.
A year on and the wider APAC AV industry is beginning to stand up and take note. Women are on the rise in APAC technology circles, something that Kagi experienced during a recent partner visit to Absen LED, who also said that the improved female to male ratio has been well received by its client base. In addition, Kagi noted that last year’s edition of Infocomm was attended by a significantly greater number of women than seen in previous years. The event also included a Women’s Council where Kagi met and networked with females in the technology industry. With this year’s event on the horizon, she hopes to see even more women in attendance.
Kagi Lau, Operations Director, APAC Global Services, said:
“If you want to be a woman in the AV or technology industry, just send your CV. More and more companies in the APAC region are becoming very open to hiring women, which is fantastic to see. As long as you are passionate and dedicated, there’s a place for you in AV.
Moving forwards, and to further increase female representation in our industry, I’d like to see more events, roundtables and discussion panels being organised. This will bring people together for collaboration and ideas on how we can collectively increase diversity and encourage more women to work in technology.”
