Female Producer Resigns After Exposing Shockingly Sexist Culture at Singapore’s Top Media Company

Female Producer Resigns After Exposing Shockingly Sexist Culture at Singapore’s Top Media Company
Kyle Encina
October 12, 2017
Channel NewsAsia producer Juwon Park’s experience of sexism sheds light on a persisting issue within the workplace of a top media company in Singapore.
Park, who previously interned at Bloomberg, Associated Press and Google, took to Facebook to post about her troubles after a colleague told her she couldn’t be a presenter because she had “no boobs.”
A company cameraman told Park that “girls shouldn’t be too smart for their own good” and that she “should act dumb” instead, according to AsiaOne.
Deleted screencap of Juwon Park’s “Sexism 2017” Facebook post.
While the colleague apologized to Park, explaining that the remarks were “meant to be a joke,” Park revealed that the incident wasn’t just a one-off case in her one and a half years working for the company. Park recalled that other colleagues often criticized her for not being able to “take jokes.”
In addition, the CNA producer’s concerns were brushed off by others who told her she simply doesn’t understand the Singapore work culture. However, Park’s encounter led to the exposure of other allegations of sexism by a number of Mediacorp employees.
Since Park’s case was investigated by Mediacorp, five other producers have brought to light their own horrific experiences. The company reprimanded the cameraman, stating that they have “taken the necessary disciplinary action against the staff who had made the inappropriate remarks.” It is unclear if the cameraman was fired.
“We embrace the diversity of our workforce and will fight any form of discrimination or harassment that threatens our core values,” a Mediacorp spokesperson added. As for Park, she still considers the incident as the “the most difficult week” in her life.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe and respected at work– regardless of their age, gender, sexuality or ethnicity,” Park said.
According to Alvinology, the CNA producer’s Facebook account was to private, and her Twitter account was deactivated following the incident.
Park admitted that she doesn’t regret speaking up about the incident, but “it probably left some mud in my reputation and future job prospect. I spoke up because I cannot justify my job if I cannot even speak up for myself.”
Park has since resigned from her post over the unwanted attention and pressure received for exposing this culture, according to Yahoo Singapore.
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