OCTOBER 2023

LEADERS IN ACTION
Johary Mustapha

CEO and Founder
Forest InteractiveCONNECTING THE WORLDAt 28, Johary dreamed of creating innovative mobile technology solutions to enhance the mobile experience for bothbusinesses and consumers. There was an opportunity to tap into the Malaysian telco industry, as it was exponentially

Wanting to bridge the gap between mobile operators and content providers and maximize the power of mobiletechnology, Johary Mustapha then founded Forest Interactive in 2006. The company is now servicing more than 80 mobileoperators and over 120 content partners, bringing connectivity to more than 1.6 billion subscribers globally.

was established to further create impact in underserved communities through a long-term mission to nurture and develop
talents for the digital economy, empower society by providing access to basic needs and opportunities, as well as raiseawareness on environmental preservation.

“Our commitment toward advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development is also our guiding light when it comes to how westructure our sustainability pillars. This includes achieving our focus• 1 •Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and pledging to commit to keyareas such as developing future innovators, promoting gender equity
within the workplace and in our surrounding communities, as well asincreasing accessibility to food and tech through programs andinitiatives that aim to empower underserved communities.”
This is facilitated not only through education-related initiatives
Foundation that aims to nurture future innovators and their employability, as well as #seKODlah x Kampus Merdeka, asimilar program in Indonesia in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, but also through sustainable community
programs under the #ForestCares initiative such as empowering the Desa Temuan indigenous community in Selangor andcollaborating with Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Malaysia to provide clean drinking water to the indigenous Jakun
community in Pahang.

TAKING A STAND
The gender gap in the technology industry is something that Johary has always been cognizant of and wanted to address.
Since its inception, Forest Interactive has strived to actively create opportunities for women from all over the world to growtheir careers in tech. The company’s senior management team boasts of more than 60% women, all who share similarvalues when it comes to gender equality
holds everyone in the organization accountable, including their founder.

“When we were invited to be a WEPs signatory, we recognized that thiswas not only an opportunity for us to rea rm our gender equalitycommitments, but also one where we can, hopefully, inspire othercompanies in our industries and beyond to commit in similar ways. It’s
important that we also share our progress with our partners and thepeople who are watching us. When we take a stand, we are playing apart in telling everyone that embracing the WEPs should be the norm.”
As a male leader and ally, Johary worked with his team to institutionalize equitable practices in the workplace, such asmechanisms to limit unconscious bias in hiring, promotion and retention. When considering company-wide policies, the“Good leaders were instrumental in supporting my advancement as I
progressed from a learning phase and onwards to becoming an asset• 2 •to the team and organization. I want this for the leaders in Forest
Interactive too, be it men or women. Pushing gender equality doesn’t
always have to come from a female perspective, but rather theperspective of the minorities, those that are often not as outspoken,
regardless of gender.”Elaborating that the corporate culture in Malaysia, where the company is headquartered, still revolves around male leadership,
Johary believes that amplifying the impact of women leaders will advance the country as a society, but he acknowledges thatchanging individual beliefs & shaping the culture is heavy work.

“Women have been leading the gender equality movement fordecades, including in the workplace. We need male allyship, startingwith male leaders setting the tone, to be thoughtful and proactive in
how they show support to initiatives that support gender equality.”

Gaining momentum
After signing on as a WEPs signatory, Forest Interactive embarked on an internal assessment using the WEPs Gap Analysis Toolin its employment practices, Forest Interactive has made an internal written commitment for gender equality within theorganization under the Code of Ethics & Business. Here it notes that the company does not allow for any kind of discriminatory
behavior and that talents should conform with the equal opportunity policy in all aspects of their work.
In 2021, the company’s People Operations team also issued a memorandum addressing sexual harassment, outlining a zero-Work roadmap, which aligns with Principle 3 of the WEPs.

Johary said: “My team started this cause back in 2020 when the AntiSexual Harassment referendum was petitioned to be tabled in theMalaysian Parliament. Our commitment in making Forest Interactive asafe workplace for our talents is constant. One of our core Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG) is SDG 5 on Gender Equality, which helps uswith our progress and e orts to champion women empowerment in
the workplace, such as forming an anti-harassment policy. This is a• 3 •part of the culture we embody. Although we may not have theresources of larger companies, we are still constantly working on
setting an example to empower women.”With Johary’s advocacy for women’s active roles in the workplace, Forest Interactive has led several gender equality
advancements, including gender-neutral hiring practices, fair career progressions, employee inclusivity and diversity, as well as
operational safety and health measures. Johary’s advocacy for women empowerment also goes beyond the various equality
environment fair and equitable, and promoting materials that highlight inclusivity in the company, and for other businessleaders to follow.
The #ItEndsNow campaign included a policy dedicated to sexual harassment, grievance mechanisms both internally andexternally with NGOs, as well as engaging biweekly newsletters that addressed topics surrounding discrimination andharassment and grievance resolutions. A whistleblowing policy and anti-retaliation framework has also been recently
implemented to safeguard employees’ wellbeing.

Continuing the legacy
Despite being a smaller company in the tech industry, Johary hopes to demonstrate that organizations do not need a lot ofresources to start working on gender equality.

“Since becoming a WEPs signatory, we have seen positive progress inour e orts, especially following the utilization of the self-assessment
tools, which helped to provide a baseline and guidance of where wewere achieving and where we needed to improve.”
Having worked towards and attained gender balance across all levels of management, with this being most prominent in its
in ensuring gender equity is advocated on the community and industry levels.

we are promoting active participation, career growth, and psychological safety for the women in our company,” Joharyshared. “By actively engaging and involving them in our diversity and inclusion initiatives, we not only show them that wevalue them as individuals, but we also hope that we can help inspire change in ensuring women’s visibility in the techindustry.”• 4 •Women’s Empowerment Principles

High-level corporate
leadership

Education and training
for women

Workplace HREmployee well-being
and safety

Measurement andreporting

Supplier diversity& marketing practices

Community
engagement

weps.org

weps@unwomen.org@WEPrinciples@Empower_WomenThis publication was produced with the generous support of the European Union through the WeEmpowerAsia programme.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Union, UN Women or the United Nations.