SANTUBONG: Women must be equipped with sound judgment, courage and responsibility to lead effectively amid growing global complexities, said Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.

She said leadership today required women to navigate challenges arising from artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation, economic uncertainties and changing societal needs while ensuring their decisions benefited communities and future generations.

“Leadership develops when people are given opportunities to think, decide, take responsibility, make mistakes, learn and eventually make decisions that affect others,” she said.

Dato Sri Fatimah was speaking at the Sarawak Women of Tomorrow (SWOT) Bootcamp 2026, themed ‘Leadership Judgment in an Age of Complexity’, at a leading resort in Santubong, on Monday.

She highlighted the need to address barriers affecting women’s career progression, including childcare and caregiving responsibilities, inflexible working arrangements and limited leadership opportunities.

Citing Sarawak’s female labour-force participation rate of 52.7 per cent, compared with 85.4 per cent for men, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s Gender Gap Index 2024, she stressed the importance of translating women’s potential into greater participation and leadership.

She also urged Sarawakian women to play a greater role in technological innovation, particularly AI, not merely as users but as creators, researchers, entrepreneurs and decision-makers.

On statesmanship, she said true leadership went beyond personal achievements and required integrity, sound judgment and accountability for the consequences of decisions.

Dato Sri Fatimah encouraged participants to broaden their perspectives, challenge assumptions and build cross-sector relationships to strengthen women’s leadership across government, business, academia, technology and community development.

Adding that Sarawak needed women who were prepared to lead with competence, courage, wisdom and responsibility in shaping the state’s future.

She also expressed confidence that the SWOT Bootcamp participants would use the knowledge, experience and relationships gained through the programme to contribute meaningfully to their respective organisations, communities and the future growth of Sarawak. -UKASnews