#IWD2025: Samsung's Lynn Chong on celebrating women beyond gender representation

The marketing industry is a dynamic, ever-shifting landscape where trends, technologies and creative ideas collide to shape the future of how brands connect with the world. As this vibrant industry evolves, it is crucial that the people behind it are equally forward-thinking, embracing change and pushing boundaries to lead the way.

While female leaders are steadily rising to the top, there's still much work to be done to accelerate gender equality and ensure that every voice has an opportunity to be heard. This International Women's Day, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE celebrates the voices of women who are making waves in Singapore's marketing landscape, breaking barriers and paving the way for the future generation of leaders.

Hear from Lynn M Chong, head of brand and marketing, Mobile eXperience, Samsung Singapore on what she has to say:  

Don't miss: International Women’s Day: What 'accelerate action' means to SG marketing leaders 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What does ‘accelerate action’ mean to you?

Chong: 'Accelerate action' means not waiting for what is currently an upward trend to continue in a linear fashion, but creating "bumps" within our spheres of influence to effect exponential change. For example, what I'd like to see a lot more of, is networking sessions for female leaders that aren't explicitly branded as "for women". We work with men, so why shouldn't they be part of our developmental journey, as opposed to the historically "oppositional" narrative of being able to do whatever men can, and maybe better?

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What’s one bold step the marketing industry needs to take now to accelerate gender equality?

Chong: As of 2022, the media and communications industry (for which marketing is considered a subset of) has the fifth-highest representation of women in leadership positions (37%), according to a 2022 WEF study encompassing nineteen different sectors including education (2nd), consumer goods (6th) and consumer retail (10th).

But equality cannot be seen in a reductive light. Were that the case, we would merely be advocating for a 50/50 numerical representation, irrespective of capability and fit. I define gender equality as an entirely meritocratic undertaking - simply put, the best person for the job, in both skills and demeanour. I believe there is increasing global awareness in this respect - in the same report, the WEF studied a pool of 155 countries and noted a steady increase in the share of women in leadership from 33.3% in 2016 to 36.9% in 2022.

This is material because of the significant variation across industries in the rates of hiring women into leadership. On average, more women were hired into leadership in industries where women were already highly represented. The industries that hired the highest share of women into leadership positions in 2021 were non-governmental and membership organisations (54%), education (49%), government and public sector (46%), personal services and wellbeing (46%), healthcare and care services (46%), and media and communications (46%). The first five are industries in which women's representation is generally higher than men's overall. When considered in relative terms, we can therefore infer that women command an outsized percentage of leadership representation, comparatively.

When we consider this relatively-high comparative percentage of women in leadership within the marketing industry, I feel the significant step we need to take is celebratory.

Celebrate the industry which puts women in leadership, not because of their gender, but because there is widespread recognition of their abilities, irrespective of gender.

Celebrate the women in position of leadership, and celebrate their male peers and reports who recognise these women as, not the best woman for the role, but the best practitioner in the organisation.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What advice would you give to other women in marketing who want to push for change and make a bigger impact at their workplace?

Chong: The same advice I'd give men. One, build and leverage networks according to your industry, surrounding yourself with peers who challenge and refine your thinking, and senior leaders who can guide and advocate for your career growth. Two, negotiate and lead. Put your hand up for strategically-significant projects, and never hesitate to ask for what you believe you are worth. Three, cultivate executive presence. Dress for impact, have a strong handshake, own your area of expertise, and master the art of storytelling. Four, develop your own brand of equality. For me, this involves actively calling out bias and gender-fuelled microaggression, while actively engaging colleagues, male and female, in conversations about gender equality.

Join us this coming 23 - 24 April for #Content360, a two-day extravaganza centered around three core thematic pillars: Challenging The Norm; Technology For Transformation; and Unlocking Imagination. Immerse yourself in learning to curate content with creativity, critical thinking, and confidence with us at Content360!

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