IT chief Merry sets own course for success

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The sexist aside leveled at many women who make it to the top is they must have climbed the corporate ladder on their backs.

Starting out as a secretary, Merry Harun, now director of Canon division at the national business solutions company PT Datascrip, admitted she often faced suspicion about her competence.

"Oh yes, I have been underestimated. Especially because IT is still a male-dominated field. I also handle Japanese products, so I often have meetings with the Japanese clients, and they are like, 'who is this woman?'

"Back in the 1980s and '90s, Japanese men were still very chauvinistic, you know. And even for regional areas, there were only two women, including me," said Merry, 42.

With an athletic figure, thanks to years of playing hockey and softball, plus a pretty face and friendly attitude, she also had to deal with the possibility of some male clients getting the wrong message and hitting on her.

"Before they do that, however, I have a lot of studying to do, to prove that I know what I'm doing and I have the knowledge. Also, don't give those gestures that 'invite' them to do things," she said.

With time, she has gained the respect she deserves.

She and Betti Alisjahbana, the president of PT IBM Indonesia, are the only two women to have secured top managerial positions in the IT sector.

Merry is responsible for all Canon products marketed by Datascrip, ranging from digital cameras, projectors, scanners to electronic filing.

Under her supervision, Canon digital camera now leads the market here with a 28 percent market share, with the single lens reflex (SLR) camera capturing around 75 percent.

She explained the facts in technical terms in structured and good Indonesian, giving the impression that she had a strong educational background in the area.

The truth is her only formal educational was gaining a diploma from a one-year secretarial course back in her hometown of Bandung, West Java.

Merry said she was a bright student, and an active one. The youngest of six siblings in a Sundanese/Chinese family, she played hockey and softball and was in several clubs, from hiking to theater.

Financial constraints forced her to take a diploma course so she could quickly earn a paycheck.

She landed her first job right after graduation in the capital, working as a secretary to a sales director in a British- Indonesian joint venture.

"Aside from working, I took many classes, like English, German, to public relations and applied psychology. I was then able to communicate with expatriates, writing proposals in English and all kinds of stuff.".

A secretarial job, she said, was strategic because the person was in a position of trust.

"I've seen many senior secretaries who were able to step into a higher position. That inspired me to move on, too. Now, I also encourage other secretaries to achieve more," said the self- proclaimed "biggest fan" of Celine Dion and "the weird but genius" Michael Jackson.

Slowly, she turned to marketing, which she found suitable as it "focuses on common sensibility".

Merry joined Datascrip in 1990, handling the electronic filing system product, which she was familiar with when she was a secretary. Except that this time it was a hi-tech one.

She met the sales target in two years and was given other products to market, before taking the entire range in 1994.

"I had to learn a lot by myself, however, due to the rapid development of digital technology. That's what I like working in this field, there are so many things to learn, the job is not static, not boring, there is the freedom to be creative and we get to meet a lot of people."

Her job is so much fun, she said, and time-consuming, too, that she has postponed ending her days as a singleton, also fodder for the cynicism and suspicion of others.

"Jakarta is such a metropolis, with so much freedom available. It feels like marriage will tie you down. Some women are able to juggle career and motherhood -- I don't think I can. It's not that I don't want to. But I think if we're not be able to commit, then don't. Pity those (neglected) children who never ask to be born."

She comes across as very different from the stereotypes of the bitter single career woman or the strident female in power.

Merry wonders about the common complaint of depression among many women despite their high position, great job and good social life.

She frowns at those women who marry for the sake of it, when they are not really interested in making a commitment.

"Especially in villages, like my domestic worker. She was divorced in less than a year, with a baby, but she looks happy now and left her kid in the village.

"Please tell women activists, if they have an opportunity to go to villages there, please educate the women. If they get married for the sake of social status, it will be bad for the quality of human resources."

For the time being, Merry is happy being single and enjoys having time with her friends. Her family is understanding, too, as she has always been an active woman.

"Unless if I just stay home and stare blankly," she said, laughing.

Between work, fun and traveling, she visits her 77-year-old mother once a month in the hometown that she now hates ("It's so chaotic now.")

Merry also participates in Catholic church activities, but has found herself arguing with the priest and hardline churchgoers. Points of contention include religious dogma she thinks illogical and sexist.

"I do it jokingly, however, otherwise they would kill me."

For her, some religious teachings should not be followed because they hamper women's progress.

"We answer to God, and I believe we should use our common sense in practicing our religions," Merry said.

Still, there is something that feels missing from her life.

"Some things are not fulfilled when you're not married and vice versa. Not being a mother, that's a missing point, which I fully recognize.

"As long as I have tons of friends, I'm fine," she said with a smile.