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With its DEI committee leading policies, awareness efforts, and events across the group, Leader Energy is building a workplace where every individual is valued, empowered, and celebrated.
Leader Energy's DEI journey was sparked by a powerful belief that diversity is not only a matter of fairness and representation, but a way to unlock broader perspectives, foster deeper collaboration, and strengthen the foundation for sustainable growth.
Rooted in the understanding that its people are its greatest asset, the organisation recognised that their varied experiences and voices deserved intentional support. This led to the launch of the DEI committee, a cross-functional team empowered to embed inclusive practices across the group.
Since then, the committee has driven meaningful change through policy design, awareness campaigns, trainings, and events. What affirmed this direction was the positive momentum that followed. Leader Energy saw stronger engagement, richer dialogue, and a shared sense of purpose across teams. These efforts reflect the group’s clear commitment to building a workplace where every individual is valued, empowered, and celebrated.
Along the journey, one key challenge was sustaining engagement and participation across diverse business units and regional offices. While the initial response to the DEI initiatives was encouraging, maintaining consistent involvement required continuous communication, creativity, and alignment with people’s needs.
“Through teamwork, resilience, and genuine commitment, we turned challenges into opportunities for growth — and strengthened the inclusive culture we’re proud to continue building today,” Sally Ng, HR Director shares.
At the HR Excellence Awards 2025, Malaysia, Leader Energy was recognised with the bronze award for ‘Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’. In this interview, Sally Ng offers a simple reminder for HR professionals that progress begins the moment you choose to try.
Q Tell us about your inspiring HR initiative – what sparked the idea, and how did you know it was the right path to take?
At Leader Energy, where we operate in a dynamic and competitive landscape of renewable energy, we believe that embracing diversity is not only a matter of fairness and representation, but it also unlocks broader perspectives, fosters deeper collaboration and strengthens our capacity to build the foundation for sustainable growth.
The idea for a formal DEI initiative was sparked by a simple yet powerful realisation: our people are our greatest asset, and their varied experiences and voices deserve intentional support. Last year, the vision came to life with the launch of our DEI committee, a cross-functional team empowered to embed inclusive practices across the group.
From policy design to awareness campaigns, trainings and events, the committee has driven meaningful change. What affirmed this path was the momentum we saw: stronger engagement, richer dialogue, and a shared sense of purpose. Today, our commitment remains clear — we’re building a workplace where every individual is valued, empowered, and celebrated.
Q Every journey has its ups and downs – can you share a challenge your team faced and how you worked through it together?
One of the key challenges we faced in our DEI journey at Leader Energy was sustaining engagement and participation across our diverse business units and regional offices. While the initial response to our DEI initiatives was encouraging, maintaining consistent involvement over time required continuous communication, creativity, and alignment with our people’s needs.
We recognised that for DEI to be meaningful, it had to be more than just programmes or events — it needed to be part of our culture and daily interactions. To overcome this, we focused on building ownership and inclusivity from within. We invited employees to lead initiatives, and act as DEI ambassadors within the organisation. We also partnered with senior leaders to champion the message that inclusion starts with everyday actions — how we listen, support, and collaborate with one another.
What truly helped us through this challenge was our shared belief in progress over perfection.
We celebrated small wins, learned from feedback, and stayed grounded in our purpose: to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute.
Through teamwork, resilience, and genuine commitment, we turned challenges into opportunities for growth — and strengthened the inclusive culture we’re proud to continue building today.
Q What impact has this initiative had on your organisation so far, and what do you hope it inspires in the wider HR community?
As we see a higher representation of women in Key Senior Management (KSM) from 0% in year 2021 to 50% in year 2024, with a balanced distribution on gender, age and nationality, we saw not only a shift in just numbers, but the quality of leadership and decision making across the organisation. This increased diversity at the top has brought broader perspectives, more balanced risk-taking, and deeper empathy in strategic discussions. Teams are more collaborative, innovation is more inclusive, and our leadership culture is more reflective of the communities we serve.
We hope this progress inspires the broader HR community to move beyond symbolic gestures and toward structural change. Equity must be embedded in systems, not just celebrated in statements. Real impact happens when inclusion becomes the way we work, not just what we say.
Q Looking back, is there a moment, person, or value that kept you and your team motivated throughout the journey?
Looking back, what kept us motivated was our shared belief that everyone deserves to feel seen, heard, and valued — regardless of background, gender, or role. We also drew constant inspiration from our leaders and DEI champions, whose unwavering support and encouragement kept the momentum alive even during challenging times. Their belief in our purpose helped us stay focused on our long-term vision: to build a culture where inclusion isn’t an initiative, but a way of working and living every day. Ultimately, it was our commitment to the values of empathy, respect, and a sense of belonging that kept us grounded. These values became our compass — guiding our actions, shaping our programs, and reminding us why this work truly matters.
Q If you could offer one golden nugget of wisdom to HR professionals aiming for excellence, what would it be?
"If you never try, you never know". The sentence may sound simple, but it’s a powerful call to action for every HR professional navigating complexity and change. Excellence in HR isn’t about having all the answers upfront, it is about being bold enough to try out ideas, challenge norms and drive solutions for the better.
Progress begins with the willingness to try. While not every initiative will be perfect from the start, each attempt will bring insights, courage and improvement. The key is to start — because transformation begins the moment we decide to take that first step.
Read more interviews on why organisations have won trophies for their HR practices - head over to our Winning Secrets section!
Lead image / Provided
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