BBC News: "Irene Ohler shares her thoughts on Ba Trieu and Vietnamese Women"
(Video available outside of Vietnam or with VPN)
Book Launch: Ba Trieu's 21 Century Daughters on VTV1
Net Viet Stories about Irene Ohler on NETVIET TV
TV CLIPS
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
Sweef Capital: Gender ROI Insight Series
Women Workforce participation
October 2023
Vietnam’s women workforce participation rate, high by global standards, masks challenging issues around gender roles and economic realities.
It’s important to look beyond headline statistics to the situation on the ground, where the picture is usually more complex, fragmented and culturally challenging for women, say Phuong Pham, Sweef Capital’s Vice President for Vietnam, Irene Öhler, leadership coach and author, and Nguyen Thi Vinh Ha, Deputy General Director at Grant Thornton Vietnam.
[Read more] about the case for change in this Insight Series article exploring the state of Women workforce participation, indicator five in the Sweef Capital Gender ROI Insight series.
VnExpress: Frasers Law Company celebrates empowerment in its International Women’s Day event
March 2024
In honor of International Women’s Day, Frasers Law Company hosted its inaugural Women in Business Breakfast meeting at The Guest House, Park Hyatt Saigon, on Mar. 8,2024.
The panelists shared perspectives and examples of collaborative strategies for building inclusive workplaces and how to engage collaborators in promoting genuine change in organizations and businesses.
The diverse international backgrounds of the panelists were also helpful in examining the uniqueness of Asian and Vietnamese views of gender roles and how these factored into conversations about representation in the workplace. [Read more]
Chinhphu.vn: Gender Equality Achievements in Vietnam
November 2021
According to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) Survey 69% of the companies surveyed across the Asia Pacific region agree that gender diversity initiatives improve business outcomes.
There is more good news:
Women in Vietnam have now surpassed men in terms of educational attainment with 54% of total tertiary education graduates, and are expanding their skills in STEM disciplines. They are increasingly well trained, more engaged in the workforce and as aspirational and ambitious as their male colleagues to get into senior management.
What business wouldn’t want to attract and retain this talent that makes up almost 50% of the workforce? [Read more]
Forbes Vietnam: Challenge the Norms to Move Forward
April 2021
Forbes Vietnam: "Some people argue that no one can help women, but they themselves have to be brave enough to get out of their comfort zone and take on the challenges. What is your opinion regarding this?
Irene: "There’s of course value in building up women’s confidence, and encouraging them to take on challenges.
But increased confidence by itself won’t solve the problem – (and note that overconfidence in women is not accepted, but can be admired in men). If the systems and the unconscious biases and social norms that surround women don’t change, increasing confidence itself won’t solve the problem."
Irene Ohler on her brainchild “Ba Trieu’s 21st Century Daughters”
August 2020
Vietnam Times: Irene Ohler - Empowering Women Leadership through Storytelling
March 2023
"The one thing I try to highlight in all my events is that there is no straight line to success! We all experience challenges, tragedies, setbacks in our lives, the big difference is how people deal with these situations and how they come back from it," exclaimed Irene.
Since the first one in November 2014, there have been almost 30 Salons. The latest Salon is the 28th one in February 2023 with a total of 45 women," said the curator proudly about her growing and diverse Salon Community.
To date, there have been 28 public Women's Storytelling Salons with a total of more than 1,000 women attending. The storytellers of the 28th salon were two young business owners, said Irene, discussing establishing and running a women-led enterprise. They not only find inspiration among their peers but also form a circle of trust and support, which promotes authenticity and positivity. [Read more]
When being asked what the most lovely thing of Vietnam is, Irene Ohler, founder of LightPath Group said that it stayed in the dynamic spirit and bold thinking ingrained in the young generation. "I will surely miss these two things so much when we go back to my homeland someday" - sharing with TheFace Magazine Vietnam. [Read more]
Crashing through Bamboo ceiling
October 2016
Bà Triệu, meaning Lady Triệu, was a 3rd century warrior who raised an army to fight the Chinese occupation of Việt Nam.
“I will not resign myself to the lot of women who bow their heads and become concubines,” the national heroine is said to have declared.
More than 1,700 years later, a woman named Irene Ohler went to a seminar in Hà Nội entitled “The Rise of Vietnamese Women CEOs”. Ohler, a coach who specializes in developing women’s leadership, says she was dumbfounded to hear a male panelist say that “women make good deputy CEOs because they are so caring”. [Read more]
Austrian helps to raise Women's voice inVietnam
December 2018
After spending six years in Việt Nam, Irene Ohler has fallen in love with the nation’s culture and people. She has been particularly taken by the women in Việt Nam thanks to their strength, resilience and beauty.
The experience inspired her to set up the Women’s Story Telling Salon and introduce a women’s leadership development programme titled Coming Into Your Own. She has also written a book a book about female leadership: Ba Trieu’s 21st Century Daughters. [Read more]
Forbes Vietnam article on the Women's Storytelling Salon
March 2017
Forbes Vietnam features the Women’s Storytelling Salon in a speacial March 2017 issue celebrating International Women’s Day. [Read more]
“Ba Trieu’s 21st Century Daughters” bring Vietnam's Image to the World
"Ba Trieu's 21st Century Daughters" bring Vietnam's image to the World.
October 2019
Clearly understand the aspirations of Vietnamese people
June 2017
One of the reasons we decided to stay in Vietnam is that we can clearly see the aspirations of Vietnamese people to continuously develop and improve their lives and their family's lives. [Read more]
Mrs. Irene Öhler – the Wife of New Zealand Ambassador: “I would like to retire in Hanoi.”
– Không dễ để một người phụ nữ có thể đứng lên cởi mở chia sẻ câu chuyện của cá nhân mình trước đám đông, bà đã thuyết phục họ như thế nào?
– Đúng vậy, phụ nữ nói chung và đặc biệt là phụ nữ Việt Nam thường khá kín đáo và không thích nói về mình trước đám đông. Chúng tôi cũng một vài lần gặp phải sự từ chối. Nhưng cảm giác được người khác lắng nghe thật sự rất phấn khích, như thể có một sức mạnh nào đó giúp những người phụ nữ rút gan ruột chia sẻ tận đáy lòng câu chuyện của mình. [Read more]
SPEAKER & MODERATOR AT EVENTS
Panelist at the 7th Hospitality Vietnam Conference for 'The Future Stewards: Attracting and Retaining Vietnamese Youth Talent in the Hospitality Sector'
05 April 2024
The panel addressed the crucial leadership challenge: How to Attract and Retain Vietnamese Youth Talent in the Hospitality Sector.
Irene contributed insights on the topic with her leadership development expertise as well as unique experience leading the 3-year HER TURN Program, arguably Vietnam's most ambitious Leadership Program for Women in Hospitality
Link to the video of the panel: Here
Speaker at Collège De France Conference
'Vietnamese women: Creativity and Engagement'
In Paris
08 June 2023
The conference showcased Vietnamese women from multiple generations with a dedication to their values. From academics and researchers to social activists, journalists, writers, artists, and businesswomen, they share insights into their experiences within Vietnam and on a global scale. Through diverse perspectives, they tackle historical legacies, contemporary issues, and future challenges with innovative solutions and unwavering resilience. Their narratives, enriched by cultural heritage and global perspectives, offer profound insights into the evolving identities of Vietnamese women.
Link to the video of 'Ba Trieu’s 21st Century Daughters. A Non-Vietnamese’ Discovery of the Remarkable Women of Vietnam': Here
Vietnam-UK Women in Business 2019: Supporting Women in Business and promoting Trade and Investment
In London
2 October 2019
Some 200 supporters of the Vietnam-UK relationship, sponsors and selected guests from a wide range of companies and organisations packed the Wilton Suite in the South Bank Centre on the evening of 2 October to attend this ambitious event. The culmination of many months of work led by VUKN Committee Member Bao Ha Pham, it proved a great success. [Read more]
Panel moderation at Forbes Vietnam Women's Summit 2018 "Shaping the Future"
08 October 2018
The biggest event about women leadership and women empowerment in Vietnam, The Women’s Summit by Forbes Vietnam is a platform for networking, exchanging ideas and building up collaborations to help women to maximize their capabilities, to reach new heights, and to shape our future.
The Summit features keynote speeches, one on one interviews, and panel discussions by inspiring, successful women in different fields, focusing on issues that are most important to women today: Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Education, Environment, Health and Happiness.
Panel moderation at inaugural Women in Vietnam #WOMENVN2018 Conference organised by the Australian Consulate General in HCMC
16 October 2018
Young leaders and decision-makers shared their experiences and expertise about leadership, mentoring, support networks and women’s health at the Women in Việt Nam Conference held on Tuesday in HCM City.
Organised by the Australian Consulate in HCM City, the two-day event, which began on Monday, was designed to mark Vietnamese Women’s Day on October 20.
Targeting final-year female university students and recent graduates, the event was held to enhance participants’ understanding of the importance of women’s representation in leadership and shine a light on health and well-being challenges facing women. [Read more]
Keynote speech at AmCham HCMC Women in Leadership Inaugural event
April 2019
In Vietnam, women are leading and driving the workforce. According to the United Nation’s International Labor Organization, approximately 72 percent of the labor force in Vietnam are women, this leads comparable statistics globally.
The Women in Leadership Inaugural event is a morning seminar focused on professional and personal development providing a unique interactive format focused on actionable tips, access to high-level networking and sharing from local female business and community leaders. [Read more]
3 October 2018
The number of women in leadership roles is an increasingly hot topic. Yet, despite high rates of participation by Vietnamese women in the workforce, the higher up the corporate ladder we look, the fewer women we see.
So, how do we create a mindset to enable women to break the bamboo ceiling? And, how do we as organisations help to support that? [Read more]