Article

International Women’s Day: Empowering Women at ATOM

10 Mar,2025 - Yangon | 2 mins read

Author: Aye Mya Thanda, Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer

The International Women's Day (IWD) was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1975, but has been a powerful promoter of Rights, Equality, and Empowerment for all women and girls since the late 1900s. Likewise, ATOM has been dedicated to contributing to this global quest for empowerment as a Responsible Business since its inception. In line with our Culture & Commitment, we take pride in employing Myanmar’s talented women across various functions at ATOM. For this, we have launched a Women’s Club to inspire success among ATOMESE women. As for our external initiatives, we have partnered with Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) to uplift women's role in sports and developed a Human Rights Corrective Action Plan with a consulting firm to name a few.

ATOM’s celebration on International Women’s Day 

This year’s IWD theme, “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”, resonated deeply with our mission. With the #AccelerateAction tag, it highlights the significance of the collective power of women, who constitute over half of the global potential for progress. We celebrated with a panel discussion titled “Accelerating Women’s Empowerment, Diversity & Inclusion and Driving Change,” where ATOM members and an external woman leader discussed empowerment, inclusion, and the impact of women in the workplace. The ATOM Women’s Club also organised a Zumba session in celebration of IWD. In our #BeyondBetter initiative for change, we collaborated with the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) by contributing MMK 300 million (3,000 Lakhs) towards the development of women’s football since 2023.

Fostering inclusivity with our 32% women representation in leadership, we launched the ATOMESE Women’s Club to grow both personally and professionally. ATOMESE can network, share insights, organise women lead events on and off ground, and give back to the community. The club also organises Leadership Development initiatives yearly with varying topics, such as training initiatives focusing on empowering women for Leadership Readiness and Mental Resilience for career growth.  

Human Rights for All   

Beyond providing telecommunications services, as far back as 2015, we joined hands with Marie Stopes Myanmar (MSM) to develop Mate app. This app helped new or expectant mothers and individuals with a range of reproductive healthcare advice. For within ATOM, we support our 42% women workforce with a 6-month maternity leave that includes a monetary health insurance plan, covering their children and spouses as well. Empowering #AccelerateAction, following ATOM brand’s launch of 2022, we have been developing a Human Rights Action Plan. Created based on the findings of a globally renowned women-led team of human rights experts, we recognised our humanising duties towards our customers, employees, suppliers, partners and the community alike.  

Conclusion 

International Women’s Day (IWD) with #AccelleratingAction will continue to raise awareness and forge gender parity.  We as women and girls, despite facing numerous societal obstacles, possess an exceptional ability to challenge the status quo. Women and girls deserve to pursue their dreams, creating legacies that inspires others to dream, to learn, and to become more. Because inclusivity and diversity have a competitive advantage, ATOM will continue to actively realize our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities under our "ATOM WITH THE HEART” as contribution. So, this International Women’s Day, let us do what we can together to truly make a positive difference for women and girls.