In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD), Grab held a luncheon to pay tribute to the extraordinary and exceptional women driver and delivery-partners on its platform who have helped drive the business since its humble beginnings. The event also saw the introduction of “GrabAcademy for Women”—an extension of the platform’s upskilling programme to help in the personal and professional development of its female workforce in the gig economy.
The programme is an opportunity for women in Grab to learn useful and practical skills that will assist them in the long run. This is part of the company’s continuous efforts to invest in their partners while at the same time assisting in improving their life skills. That aside, it also gives them an opportunity to meet other females who are earning on the platform too.
“GrabAcademy’s objective is to ensure that no one is left behind as the economy progresses by equipping them with the necessary skills. As the nation progresses, we are dedicated to assisting all Malaysians to grow along with it and benefit from the digital economy,” said Rashid Shukor, head of operations at Grab Malaysia.
Grab revealed that the courses are specially curated based on feedback received over the years on what women want to learn and improve on.
For starters, the first course will touch on personal finance management to educate driver-partners to better manage their personal finance. Conducted by CIMB Malaysia, other topics that will be covered include daily expenses, car loans, student debts, taxes, investments, and how to make the most out of savings.
Grab will be working with other business partners to offer more courses, covering a broad range of topics. Some courses lined up include safety and vehicle maintenance, health and wellness, language courses, and workshops to better handle physically impaired passengers.
“GrabAcademy for Women” will be available exclusively for female partners effective March 2020.
Celebrating inspirational, exceptional women
Attended by 150 female driver and delivery-partners together with their friends and families, the event also saw three extraordinary women in Grab sharing their inspiring stories on stage.
Nurain binti Paker Seelan, 44 years old, part-time driver-partner
“I started driving with Grab in January 2019 after being in the food and beverage industry my whole life. When I first joined, I met countless female drivers who shared their experiences with me. I was inspired by their tenacity as female drivers and it was then that I decided that I could really turn this into a promising career. Since then I've been able to save enough money not only to purchase my own car but also start up my own business. Driving Grab really helped kickstart my own business, but most importantly, the flexibility allowed me to spend more time with my children as they’re growing up, and I’m really thankful for that.”
Shee Pooi Yee, 31 years old, full-time driver-partner
“As a single mom of two sons, time is really important to me. Before driving with Grab I dabbled in a lot of different jobs such as sales and telemarketing, but it was really difficult juggling my time between raising my kids and supporting them financially. I heard from friends and family that Grab was a convenient career option, so the minute that I upgraded my P driving licence, I quickly signed up to become a Grab driver and never looked back. Now I have more time to be with my kids while also providing for them. If my children aren’t feeling well, I can easily go home early and look after them which is something I wasn’t able to do before and it's this flexibility that I love.”
Faridah binti Mustaphai, 41 years old, full-time delivery-partner
“I used to work as a merchandiser and I would never have imagined that I’d one day become a GrabFood delivery-partner. As food delivery services are generally seen as a male-dominated field, a lot of customers are usually surprised when i show up with their orders. And even though the majority of food delivery riders are men, it doesn’t mean that women aren’t capable of pursuing this as a career. That’s one of my goals, to break down the gender stereotype and show everyone that women should be seen as equals. Some people have asked me if I was scared to do this job. I tell them that there’s always going to be concerns and danger in everything you do, but you shouldn’t let your fear hold you back.”
Grab said it is committed to growing the number of women using the platform as a source of income, while striving to improve the ecosystem to serve them better.
