Extraordinary Women - Singapore

About the Book

The premise for the book is Karen’s personal observation of the state of gender inequality which still exists between men and women in Singapore, a country which has achieved the status of a first-world economy. Karen further explores the dire state of gender inequality in Singapore in her book. From her first job with a large electronics conglomerate, Karen witnessed the apparent inequality between men and women in the workplace. From her observation, it seems extremely difficult to break the gender impediment between men and women in the workplace and even at home. Karen notices that most female senior managers have to content with working in more auxiliary departments such as administration, accounting and human resource. As for the strategic positions in procurement, business development, sales, strategic planning and legal departments, most, if not all of these positions are likely to be helmed by male employees. Furthermore, men are expected to excel in their career, but if a woman focuses her time on building her career, her aspirations are viewed negatively by society because traditionalists still believe that women should take care of the household, whilst the men should bring home the bacon. This book, which has been simmering for the past two years, encompasses a series of interviews with strong and successful women who have been able overcome the gender barrier and achieve work-life balance. Karen hopes that Extraordinary Women – Singapore will inspire men and women to work together towards achieving greater work-life balance and strive to break the invisible brick wall of gender inequality.

About the Author

Karen Lee Entrepreneur , Mother and Wife Author – Extraordinary Women – Singapore Karen graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree and at the recommendation of the then Deputy Dean of Japanese Studies Department of NUS, she received a scholarship from the Okinawan Prefecture Government where she did her post-graduate studies in Japanese Language and Studies at the University of the Ryukyus. With her ability to converse in good Japanese, she was chosen to represent the University of the Ryukyus for a speech competition at Prefectural Level and was presented a certificate which acknowledged Karen for her strong ability to capture the attention of the audience with her aptitude and speech in Japanese Language. After Karen completed her studies in Okinawa, she returned to Singapore and started her career with a large electronics global conglomerate. For the past 15 years, Karen garnered her commercial experience by working for various global conglomerates which includes a Government body, large banks, reputable electronics and high technology conglomerates. Currently, Karen runs her own products’ distribution business focusing on the distribution of baby and adult products which are natural, organic and eco-friendly. Besides running a products’ distribution business, Karen is also a fashion agent for designer wear. On top of being a Mumpreneur, Karen also writes and manages her own blog site at CadenCharles.net. She is also a free-lance writer for local baby and lifestyle magazines. Equipped with procurement experience gained from working for global conglomerates, Karen is capable of creating and managing distribution channels and pricing products suitably for the intended consumer and market tier. Karen’s flair and passion for writing, coupled with her strong communication skills and international events management experience, has helped her build a network of clientele for her business.