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A job interview made her question the barriers women face at work so she built a platform to uncover them
🇸🇬 Singapore /Culture & Society

A job interview made her question the barriers women face at work so she built a platform to uncover them

From CNA · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • Khatija Aslam launched Moxy in 2023 to address the significant drop-off of women in mid to senior career levels, particularly in Southeast Asia.
  • Aslam's own experience of being denied a job after disclosing she was returning from maternity leave inspired her to investigate workplace barriers for women.
  • Moxy aims to collect women's workplace experiences to help companies implement structural changes for a fairer environment, advocating for systemic solutions beyond individual effort.

A job interview in 2020 prompted Khatija Aslam to confront the assumptions women face at work, leading her to create Moxy, a platform dedicated to uncovering these barriers. Aslam, who was returning from maternity leave with two young children, felt a job interview had gone well until she received feedback that her "personal circumstances" made her a poor fit due to assumed long hours, late nights, and travel requirements.

I was never asked if I had any travel constraints. It was simply assumed I couldn’t travel.

— Khatija AslamRecalling the feedback from a job interview that led her to question workplace assumptions about women.

"I was never asked if I had any travel constraints. It was simply assumed I couldn’t travel," Aslam recalled. This experience sparked her research into the "leaky pipeline," a term describing the decline of women at successive career stages. She noted that over 50% of women leave between mid and senior levels, often coinciding with peak caregiving responsibilities.

These are typically the years when caregiving responsibilities peak, whether you have ageing parents or children.

— Khatija AslamExplaining the phenomenon of women dropping out of the workforce between mid and senior career levels.

Aslam observed women either pushing themselves to extreme limits or leaving the workforce altogether. After taking a sabbatical in 2022, she delved deeper into finding ways to ensure women's careers not only survive but thrive alongside family responsibilities. She concluded that systemic change is essential, requiring awareness of gender bias and organizational structures that support women's progression.

It became more and more evident to me that solving the issue of women dropping out of the workforce requires systemic change.

— Khatija AslamStating her conclusion about the need for broader changes to support women's careers.

Founded in 2023, Moxy gathers women's workplace experiences in Asia to provide data for companies. Aslam believes this data can drive investment in structural changes, fostering a fairer workplace. "This involves building awareness of gender bias and putting the right structures in place within organisations, and governments to a certain extent, to ensure women can grow, progress and thrive at every stage of their career," the 37-year-old stated.

This involves building awareness of gender bias and putting the right structures in place within organisations, and governments to a certain extent, to ensure women can grow, progress and thrive at every stage of their career.

— Khatija AslamDescribing the necessary steps for systemic change to support women in their careers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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