MAYA MARISSA MALEK
YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER IN ISLAMIC FINANCE IN MALAYSIA WORKING FOR AMANIE ADVISORS MALAYSIA AS THE FIRST WOMAN CONSULTANT IN 2007. HOW HAS WORKING WITH AMANIE ADVISORS DEVELOPED YOUR CAREER AND HELPED YOU LEARN AND GROW? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST CAREER-DEFINING MOMENT THAT YOU ARE PROUD OF?
I am blessed to have started my career in Islamic finance working with Amanie Advisors, Malaysia in 2007 and then moved to Amanie Advisors Global Office, Dubai in 2014. Amanie Advisors was founded and is led by my mentor, Datuk Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar, a renowned global Shari’a scholar and corporate figure. Coming from a legal background, and now having more than 20 years of experience in corporate legal and Islamic financial matters, working in Amanie was a step-up and a platform for me to contribute to the quest of strengthening the Islamic finance industry. I have initiated atypical Islamic financial entreprises, and was entrusted with leading our global Shari’a advisory business. I have personally headed landmark projects such as the development of Islamic banking framework for the Central Bank of Afghanistan, development of the first ever Shari’a standards on gold in collaboration with AAOIFI and the World Gold Council, issuance of the first corporate Sukuk out of Oman working on the first ever corporate Sukuk out of Oman and first Sukuk out of Kazakhstan, setting up of various Islamic windows in non-Muslim countries, and advising the world’s largest gold ETF. I have found these ventures to be fulfilling, which has ignited my passion even more. I am also an external consultant and a subject-matter expert on Shari’a for the IFC, World Bank Group.
IN SHARI’A ADVISORY, AN AREA WHERE THE PRESENCE OF WOMEN IS SCARE, YOU HAVE MADE YOUR MARK. WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE AND HOW HAS THE INDUSTRY CHANGED SINCE?
Drawing strength from all these great encounters that I have had the blessings to experience, I stay abreast of the latest happenings in the industry, reflect that in my work and be more cognizant of the demands from the non-traditional markets in the quest to uplift the industry.
The raison d’etre in my work is to create awareness to as many parties outside the Islamic financial space as possible. Since Islamic finance is for everyone and not just for Muslims, there is no limit to expand its reach beyond predominant Muslim countries and markets. Solid Islamic solutions that can address the concerns of newcomers into Islamic finance is paramount and to add to this, the solution must not only be Shari’a-compliant but also commercially viable and workable. We need to have in depth knowledge of what is on the ground in these new markets and a solid knowledge of Shari’a in order to match solutions with various aspects so as to reinforce the sustainability of Islamic finance in the market and be a real alternative to conventional finance throughout the value chain in the near future.
THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN ISLAMIC FINANCE HAS GAINED PROMINENCE IN RECENT YEARS. MALAYSIAN WOMEN ARE OCCUPYING LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AND PLAYING A DOMINANT ROLE IN THE INDUSTRY. WHY IN YOUR VIEW ARE COUNTRIES LIKE MALAYSIA LEADING IN THE GENDER LEADERSHIP SPACE?
Women’s inclusion and participation in Islamic finance and its sister sectors is part of a wider effort on women empowerment in the workplace. Women are playing many roles now – they are investors, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, senior executives, Shari’a scholars, techies, professionals and many more. Also let’s not forget they are wives, mothers, daughters and sisters. In Islamic finance, the cause for lack of women representation may be more inadvertent rather than deliberate. In addition to talent shortage, this area may not be that attractive or ideal for female role models to venture into. In countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and the UAE; professional women are being given a more balanced gender footing to be entrusted with top management positions and be involved in Islamic finance and Shari’a advisory boards. However, it is worth noting that despite quite a big number of women professionals occupying middle-management positions, the number seems to dwindle further up the corporate ladder.
Link this with Shari’a advisory practice as a whole, with no visible career path to the top rungs in Islamic financial institutions, women in Islamic finance are again facing a huge sturdy wall in their career paths.
YOU HAVE RECENTLY BEEN NAMED AS THE 7TH MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMAN IN ISLAMIC BUSINESS AND FINANCE GLOBALLY BY CAMBRIDGE IFA, UK CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS HUGE ACHIEVEMENT. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE TO WOMEN’S CAREER PROGRESSION ESPECIALLY IN LEADERSHIP ROLES?
Thank you. Whatever that I have achieved thus far is the blessings of the Almighty, the support from a great team at Amanie and the unyielding backing from my family.
Whether we admit it or not, we are living in a disrupted world. Despite the positive outlook for the industry as a whole, the one challenge that has always been consistent and plaguing the industry is scarcity of talents. Even more so in Shari’a advisory. Although there are many women leaders in different industries, when it comes to Islamic finance, women are clearly under-represented. To develop and empower the female leaders of tomorrow, CEOs and senior leaders should integrate gender diversity as a core part of the organisation’s strategic objective and ensure organisation-wide communication and engagement. Applying best practices in retaining talent, ensuring fairness and equal opportunities, removing any conscious or unconscious bias, and promoting role models are the key tools.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR WOMEN AIMING FOR LEADERSHIP POSITIONS?
I subscribe to the view that we need more and more leaders who can drive change on all levels of human relationships, not just in the realms of technology and science, but more importantly, to evolve conscience. This is an important role that women can participate in and contribute to. For the untapped women leaders in Islamic finance, there is no easy way to succeed. Women should not have to bow down to mainstream perception and expectation. Instead be creative in managing and balancing various responsibilities, ready to accept challenges and take everything in their stride in a positive manner without compromising on the unique attributes, including their quiet strength. It is also important for women to support each other in their endeavours. One of my aims is to empower more and more women to enter this line of work, and showing them that we can do it and do it well, if not better.
