Manulife Malaysia Just Dropped the Mic on Inclusive Leadership and Honestly, It’s About Time

Manulife Malaysia hosted a media meet today, and instead of doing the usual corporate yada-yada, they put inclusion front and center, not as a buzzword, but as a business flex and a social responsibility.

The theme?
“Championing Diversity: Malaysia’s Journey to Inclusive Leadership.”
A.k.a. “Let’s talk about inclusion like adults who actually care, and not like HR reading from a PowerPoint.”

The panel featured some serious heavy-hitters:

• Vibha Coburn, CEO of Manulife Malaysia
• Soh Yoon Yee, Chief People Officer
• Anna Yamauchi, Founder & CEO of Lumirious
• Grace Gan, Manager at Yayasan Gamuda’s Enabling Academy

Together, they unpacked how inclusion isn’t just a cute principle — it’s transforming leadership, products, and the future of work. Think: real representation, thoughtful product design, and workplaces that don’t feel like survival mode.

Why This Actually Matters (and isn’t just CSR theatre)

Gen Z has been screaming this for years, but now we’ve got receipts:
👉 15%–20% of the population is neurodivergent (that’s about 17% of the workforce).
👉 Cognitively diverse teams solve problems 3× faster.
👉 Inclusive companies are 75% more likely to turn ideas into real products and 87% more likely to make better decisions.

Translation:
Different brains = better business.
When companies stop forcing everyone into the same box, innovation explodes. Creativity jumps. Agility improves. People actually feel like humans instead of job descriptions.

Manulife’s CEO Said It Best

“Inclusion isn’t just a value, it’s a business imperative and a social responsibility.” — Vibha Coburn, CEO of Manulife Malaysia

She broke it down: when people feel seen and respected, they perform better — and society benefits too. This mindset shapes everything Manulife does, from women-centered health plans to products like Manulife Health Saver Enrich, which helps families stay protected physically and financially.

We love a leader who gets that culture = product.

So What Is Manulife Actually Doing?

This is where it gets real:

• Pushing for gender balance in leadership
• Offering flexible work arrangements (finally)
• Teaming up with Enabling Academy to empower differently abled talent
• Creating healthcare initiatives for underserved communities
• Designing products for different needs, including mental health support and women-focused benefits

Basically, they’re putting their money and policies where their mouth is. Not perfect, but definitely moving.

Bottom Line

Manulife is making inclusion part of how it thinks, works, and builds products. And honestly? That’s the kind of energy every Malaysian company needs going forward.

Because the future of work isn’t just diverse, it’s inclusive, intentional, and unapologetically human.