AUGUST 2022

WEPs IN ACTION
PRINCIPLE 2Treat all women and men
fairly at work – respect andsupport human rights
and nondiscrimination

Contents
1.

Context

2.

Actions

3.

Challenges

4.

Results

5.

Recommendations

CASE STUDY: DIGI TELECOMMUNICATIONSEXTENDED MATERNITY LEAVE: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MOTHERS AND
COMPANIESLESSONS LEARNED• Investing in female employees before, during and after

having a child proves beneficial for new mothers and thecompany itself.

• While diversity is crucial in an organisation, inclusivity iswhere real difference is made – in recognising thedifferent needs of a diverse workforce

CONTEXTDigi is a leading digital connectivity and services company, empowering societies and connecting customers to what mattersmost by prioritising connectivity delivery safely, reliably and efficiently across Malaysia. Shaped by a culture of innovation, Digi
has solid fundamentals in digitalisation, workplace and people
de-velopment, and responsible business practices.
Digi aspires to build an organisation with a friendly and conducive workplace, providing their “Digizens” (employees) equal opportunity to contribute and freedom to do their best for thecompany and their families. Diversity and Inclusion is a key
driver and basis across all levels in accelerating businessperformance in Digi and is one of the core pillars under its
Responsible Business strategy. According to Bloomberg’s
Gender-Equality Index 2020, Digi Telecommunications is thefirst Malaysian corporate in global indices for exemplary
gender equality and inclusion stan-dards with 100% disclosure score, above global and country average.
While diversity is crucial in the organisation, inclusivity is wherereal difference is made – in recognising and adapting to the different needs of their diverse workforce, which includes workingmothers.

Case Study: DIGI TELECOMMUNIC AT I ONS | 1ACTIONS
6-month maternity leave
Digi demonstrates their responsibility by investing in their female
employees while supporting them at a crucial point in their lives becoming mothers. As part of empowering and supporting female
employees, Digi instituted a 6-month maternity leave policy in2016, being the first of its kind in Malaysia, especially as the national Employment Act only stipulated 60 days. Digi regards that newmothers would need more than the typical 2 to 3 months to truly
bond with their baby, take care of themselves and fully recoverpost-delivery.

This initiative, alongside other flexibilities and benefits, enables mothers to care for their newborns in the critical firstfew months and reduce stress and anxiety of separationfrom their baby, while having job security and the opportunity to return to work refreshed.
While there was no particular challenge, gap or limitation per sethat inspired this initiative, Digi saw this as a big opportunity thatwould contribute towards retaining women in the workforce andattracting top talent. Even with the statutory 2-months maternity
leave prior to 2016, Digi offered its employees an option of extending their maternity leave by another two months, with the company covering this additional leave at half-pay. The positive feedback
and benefits the company saw from this optional extension inspired them to go a step further and launch the new 6-month leave
policy.

Knowing well ahead that operational challenges would arise from
deploying the new initiative, several key aspects were consideredin advance, such as the process for hiring replacement employees
and the operational costs that would entail, as well as the necessary support and guidance for smooth transition of business.
It took considerable planning and coordination, but the foundation started with the top leadership’s commitment in building aworkplace culture that prioritises diversity and inclusion. While theinitiative was driven by the Human Resources department, different stakeholders contributed towards its shaping, especially when
first launched. Insights were acquired from Digi’s leadership teams,
people managers, and other employees including mothers.
The initiative has been running successfully since 2016, proving its
long-term sustainability. Upon launching, the teams in charge
monitored the operation to ensure that the mothers, their teams
and people managers received adequate support.
For example, every team plans well in advance for reassignment oftasks and provides capacity or capability building for the employee who will take on the roles of the mother-to-be. Progress of theinitiative was thoroughly monitored when first launched to identify any underlying gaps and develop potential solutions, and success measured through the ability of stakeholders to execute it in acoherent manner with minimal operational disruptions.

CHALLENGES
The biggest challenge was in operationalising the policy and ensuring business continuity for the teams whose members would
be away for 6-months. It required a lot of discussions with employees and leaders to understand different scenarios, uniquechallenges, and overall feasibility. These factors were all taken
into careful consideration, notably for leaders who required considerable assistance in planning ahead for their teams.
Upon thorough discussions with various stakeholders, Digi conquered the challenges with substantial planning on the available
support and potential redistribution of tasks to existing teammembers, as well as cross-collaboration efforts within different
departments and divisions.

Where that was not a considerable internal option for work
cover, Digi brought in external hires on a contract basis toensure the workloads of other teams were carefully considered.
This unique solution presented the opportunity for“Digizens” to engage with external talents who brought freshindustry perspectives.

“I was able to have plenty of rest and be carefree while caring for my baby. This benefit allowed me to fully breastfeed
and bond with my baby for 6 months and at the same time,
I was stress-free from thinking about our finances.”– Gurdeep Kaur, Senior, Accounting and FinanceTransformation.

RESULTSFor the female employee going on maternity leave, this presented
her the assurance that her responsibilities would be managed andplanned for, while at the same time she could be fully immersed in

2 | Case Study: DIGI T ELECOMMUNIC AT IONS

her new role as a mother without having to worry about work. It
also meant that there was an additional peace of mind knowingthat she would still have a role in the organisation upon her return.

TIMELINE
2016

2020

2021

Digi is the first Malaysian company in global
indices for exemplary gender equality andindustrial standards with 100% disclosure

Digi Telecommunications’
6-month maternity leave wasintroduced, the first of its
kind in Malaysia

Ranked 37th among 100 global players
in Refinitiv’s Global Diversity andInclusion Index 2020.

Apart from directly benefiting mothers, this policy accelerated collaboration among teams in Digi, providing an opportunity for colleagues to be agile, step in as a substitute and elevate their learning
experience and exposure to different scopes of work.
Approximately 135 mothers in Digi have benefitted from this policy
since its inception in 2016, with 116 of them continuing to grow intheir careers to-date. A total of 21 mothers have since been promoted in their roles, a testament that Digi is a place in which women
can build careers, fill the ranks of the organisation’s leadership andplay key roles in the business, all while building and supporting
their own families.

Became a UN Women WEPs Awards 2021
Malaysia Champion, awarded 2nd Runner
Up under the ‘Gender-Inclusive Workplace’
category

Incorporated into the Bloomberg Gender
Equality Index 2021

exceeding Malaysia’s target of 30% women participation in Boardsof Public Listed Companies (PLCs).
As of June 2022, the initiative contributed to Digi’s achievement ofa 50-50 gender balance in their workforce. Additionally, the leadership team (up to C-2 level) comprises 45% females while the Digi
Board is gender-balanced with 50-50 representation.
Digi acknowledges that there’s always room for continuous improvement and seeks to enhance the initiative by strengthening
the handover process and increasing the support given for replacement employees.

Upon the initiative’s introduction, 45% of Digi’s workforce werewomen while the company’s Board had 43% female representation,RECOMMENDATIONS
Incorporating Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) into the organisational philosophy. Driving the D&I agenda and building aware-ness across the organisation has helped Digi’s business growth, attracted a diverse talent pool and facilitated the implementation ofnew, relevant initiatives.

Acquire participation of the top management. The

company's decision makers play key roles in advocating for theinvestment and building a diverse and inclusive culture.
Shaping a corporate culture invested in D&I is one of the contributing factors to the success of the policy. The whole organisation has
to play a role through their support and buy-in, without which implementing such initiatives would be impossible.

Digi acknowledges the importance of knowledge transfer andbuilding capacity for organisational agility - especially for theexpectant mother going on leave and returning post-maternity. Forthe manager, their team and the business, it allows them to become
comfortable with the abrupt changes, assist the substitute employee in taking over to reduce potential gaps, and support the motheronce she returns.
The systematic transfer of knowledge becomes crucial in providing
all parties the necessary information and skills to support the mother’s needs without much strain to fill in the gaps.

Case Study: DIGI TELECOMMUNIC AT I ONS | 3

Substantial planning on the available support andredistribution of tasks to existing team members.

Ensuring business continuity for the teams whose
members will be away.

External hires on a contract basis were introduced to ensure
work loads of other teams are managed.

127
Approximate number of mothers
in Digi’s workforce havebenefitted from this policy

45

50Percentage of women in Digi’s
leadership team (up to C-2 level)

Percentage of women in Digi’s
Board of Directors%%

MenWomen

THE ROLE OF WEPs
Signing the WEPs further reinstates Digi’s continuous commitment to gender equality in the workplace, which has been theirstrength. It reinforces an important message that Digi will continue their responsibility towards Diversity and Inclusion (D&I)
for employees, customers and society at large. As a WEPs Signatory, Digi plays the role of advocates who continuously work to
do better and cultivate an organisational culture that appreciates Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), thus creating anequal, engaged and empowered workplace

4 | Case Study: DIGI T ELECOMMUNIC AT IONSHOW IT WAS ADDRESSEDCHALLENGE

Operationalising the 6-months maternity leavepolicy.

Principle 1

Establish high-level corporate leadershipfor gender equality.

Principle 2

Treat all women and men fairly at work– respectand support human rights and nondiscrimination.

Principle 3

Ensure the health, safety and well-being of
all women and men workers.

Principle 4

Promote education, training and professional
development for women.

Principle 5

Implement enterprise development, supply chain
and marketing practices that empower women.

Principle 6

Promote equality through community initiatives
and advocacy.

Principle 7

Measure and publicly report on progressto achieve gender equality.

#WeEmpowerAsia
weps.org
weps@unwomen.org

Funded by:

Produced by:

Women’s Empowerment
Principles@WEPrinciples

United Nations’ Women’s
Empowerment Principles@UNWomenAsia

In support of:

DISCLAIMER: 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

Case Study:ATGOJEK
Case Study: DIGI TELECOMMUNICI ONS | 5