I grew up in a small town in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, where education is not a key priority for many families. Children, especially girls, often drop out of school before completing their primary education because families cannot afford it. This is compounded by the belief that women should focus on getting married and taking care of the family. I absolutely confront this prejudice.
I’m much luckier than most girls in my hometown; my parents are both teachers who have always encouraged me to learn. I told myself that the only way to have a better life and to help others is by learning. I believed I had to succeed, to lead by example for my younger sisters and brothers, and for children – especially girls – in my community. I want to contribute to removing gender discrimination from society.
I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and learn new skills, especially in management
My major at university was finance and I thought I’d become an investment banker after graduating. One day, a friend studying accounting told me about an internship programme at KPMG. I applied and passed after five tough rounds competing with students from top universities. After completing the internship, I was offered a permanent position as a tax consultant specialising in transfer pricing (TP).
I’ll always be grateful for the advice of my first boss, who suggested I pursue a professional qualification. This led me to ACCA, one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It took me two years to complete, passing all papers at the first attempt. I was awarded one of the top three highest scores in Vietnam and was prizewinner for the Advanced Performance Management paper.
I want to foster gender equity so that every person in my community has equitable and fair treatment
I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and learn new skills, especially in management, so I moved to Deloitte. With the requisite technical capabilities, excellent client service and ACCA qualification, I was one of the exceptional cases that got promoted to the management level at a young age in Deloitte. I provide strategic advisory solutions on TP for group entities and crossborder transactions for the world’s leading multinational corporations.
I feel lucky to have had opportunities to meet and work with talented professionals, as well as the support of my family and friends, and my own constant effort and resilience in everything I do. It’s what’s made me who I am today.
I aspire to live an impactful life. I want to be a role model to foster gender equity so that every person in my community, especially girls, has equitable and fair treatment, and access to opportunities to grow, develop and succeed.
