The automobile and e-sports gaming industries have traditionally been male-dominated fields, a reality that further highlights the progress achieved by Pranapda Chirathivat (Pam) and Shinta Dhanuwardoyo — Director and VP of Business Development at Siam Motors Group, and CEO of Bubu.com respectively. In the second episode of Gender Agenda, our guests candidly shared about their journey to get to where they are today, the obstacles they’ve faced as women in male-centric sectors, and what they do to make room for other women.
Having grown up with ten male cousins and a behind-the-scenes look at Siam Motors — a family business — Pam was familiar with the nuts and bolts. After some experience working at GE Capital, Pam worked from the ground up, starting out with Nissan car dealerships, repair, and transport logistics, leading up to her current role spearheading Siam Motors Group. Similarly, Shinta grew up as the only girl among three brothers. With her grandmother — travelling ambassador to Indonesia’s first president in a time when politics was also male-dominated — as a role model, Shinta grew up with the mindset that men and women are equal. After a stint as a supervisor of a university computer lab, Shinta discovered a love for the Internet and its potential. This led to her founding web development company Bubu.com, which eventually evolved into a full-service digital agency with Bubu Gaming as a foray into the world of gaming and e-sports.
Yet, despite the headway they’ve made, even Pam and Shinta are not spared from grappling with gender imbalance in male-dominated arenas. Siam Motors Group works with about 30 Japanese brands, which meant Pam often had to navigate Japan’s patriarchal work culture. She recalled barely seeing women anywhere in the office, and sometimes being mistaken for a secretary. “It became even more clear to me that they would… not accept a female as the next CEO so no matter what I did, my gender would hold me back,” Pam said. Meanwhile, according to Shinta, gender proves to be a stumbling block in the gaming industry as well. Despite the fact that 46% of women in Indonesia are gamers, there were no professional female gamer teams, let alone women-specific competitive tournaments. As a result, there is little incentive to sponsor tournaments for women, and men’s tournaments tend to enjoy a bigger prize pool.
Determined to shift things in a new direction, Shinta decided to start a tournament for women which saw a turnout of 10,000 people. This move paid off and started a ripple effect — game publishers started organising their own women’s tournaments, more brands began sponsoring such events, and professional teams for women were finally formed. This also opened Shinta’s eyes to the need for early stage investment to give women a foothold in establishing themselves in male-dominated industries. Now, she is an angel investor and an advisory board member of the Women Fund. In addition, through Bubu.com, she has started an incubation program called Super Girls in Tech. The program empowers female university students to find technological solutions to tackle real problems faced by fellow women. Meanwhile, Pam founded women’s empowerment summit Dragonfly360 to mobilise Thai society towards gender equality. This eventually evolved into a content platform as well as a provider of DEI training sessions.
However, while it’s important to shine the spotlight on women breaking barriers, Shinta discussed the importance of how we frame this narrative, that the key focus should be women’s talents and capabilities, instead of solely their gender. “This reinforces the idea that women can actually excel based on their abilities… expertise, not just because they’re women,” she explained. Pam also pointed out that in order to make room for women, a crucial understanding is needed that what needs fixing isn’t women, but the system they are in. She observed the inequality in societal expectations, citing the example of women being saddled with the responsibility of caring for the household and children, on top of their careers. Ultimately, Pam believes that a key part of raising awareness for gender equality is in highlighting the disproportionate challenges women face due to cultural stereotypes.
Listen to the full episode and check out Gender Agenda on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
