• Society

Raise Professional Standards, Women Entrepreneurs Urged

• By Song Sotheavy
• and Teng Yalirozy
• March 8, 2022 4:10 PM

Industry leaders offer skills development

PHNOM PENH--Two leading women entrepreneurs are urging women in business to join their industry associations to enhance their professional knowledge and skills.

Both are presidents of their own associations and are speaking out after seeing some women doing business unprofessionally.

Keo Mom, president of the Cambodian Women Entrepreneurs Association (CWEA), said that CWEA always pays attention to mobilizing women entrepreneurs across the country to strengthen their knowledge, professional skills, ability to lead and manage their business to a high standard.

She said she always considers the value of Cambodian women entrepreneurs by promoting ethics and professionalism among her members.

"Currently, Cambodia has a large number of women entrepreneurs contributing to national economic and social development,” Mom said.

“Compared with men, women make up almost 60 percent, and they have provided many job opportunities to society and are a role model for everyone.”

However, she saw some women doing business online unprofessionally by using sexiness to attract viewers to buy their products. Those actions greatly affect the value of Cambodian women in general, she said.

“We always try to eliminate such negative influences, and offer many activities that benefit the society, especially our young women entrepreneurs in Cambodia.”

You Bory, vice president of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Cambodia (YEAC), said she and the association are sharing knowledge and experience for the next generation of women entrepreneurs to be more prosperous and sustainable.

However, many women who claim to be entrepreneurs lack knowledge and wear sexy clothing to sell products online as foreign influences flow widely into Cambodian society.

Bory encouraged them to join the association to fill in the gap in their skills and professionalism.

“When they gain abundant knowledge and are aware of professionalism, they will change their behavior and do business professionally,” she said.

YEAC focuses on women entrepreneurs in the ASEAN region, concentrating on four key actions, Bory said.

The goals include capacity-building for women through training courses; providing knowledge of physical and mental health care to young women entrepreneurs and education of business sustainability; assisting in taking care of the monthly finances of the businesses of each member; and strengthening the international ties of ASEAN and other countries through the unique cultural attitudes of each country.

March 8, 2022, is the 111th International Women's Day under the theme "Gender Equality Today for Sustainability in the Future."