Michele Wee, Standard Chartered’s chief executive for Vietnam, started out as an interbank foreign exchange spot broker in the 1990s in Singapore. The job involved shouting out prices at the top of her voice on the trading floor, and her typical work day started early in the morning and ended late at night with drinks at the bar. It proved a great training ground for Wee.
“I’m pretty sure I got the job because I was young, I could drink and I was presentable,” Wee tells Asiamoney over a video call in July. “And I still remember, it was a very male-dominated environment at the time. There was a perception that females were almost like commodities to be showed off to other male dealers in the market.”
It’s time to take a positive step towards helping women
Young female bankers like herself had to learn how to hold their own under difficult circumstances. Wee stayed in the industry for a few years, before moving to Bloomberg in the e-foreign exchange sales team, staying there for about two years.