SUBANG JAYA, Malaysia - Women make better leaders in non-profit organisations because of their natural humane traits, Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman said.
The wife of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin pointed out that despite women being generally active in NGO works, the leaders were mostly men.
"I am pleased to know that women are active in NGOs. However, men mostly dominate the leadership positions," she said at the launch of Global Peace Women Malaysia (GPW Malaysia) here.
"This is an area we want to see more development. Women, with their natural sense of nurturing, solving conflicts with compassion, tolerance and tender-heartedness can offer a lot more to the betterment of the society," she said.
Norainee said a collective effort to promote global peace was important and the launch was timely.
"We need to empower even more women to contribute to peace and nation-building. We need to create greater awareness among women; that the world needs us and we can make a difference to the world."
Global Peace Women International (GPW International) was launched last Nov 30 at the Global Peace Festival Foundation in Korea, as an initiative to empower women as ambassadors of peace.
Malaysia is the first country to launch a national chapter.
GPW Malaysia's inaugural forum is being held here today and features speakers such as former Universiti Malaya vice-chancellor Tan Sri Rafiah Salim and GPW International secretary-general Kim Shin-sook of Korea.
About 300 women leaders from 10 countries including Malaysia, Korea, Philippines and Indonesia attended the launch.
A national council, made up of 10 local women leaders, was also announced by Global Peace Festival Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail.
