Review: First Women Empowerment Forum
The Women Empowerment Council held its first Women Empowerment Forum to shine a light on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) with over 1300 attendees (online & in person). This year’s theme is ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Lights, Camera, Action! The key diversity data showed a subset of China MNCs performed better than global and regional DEI statistics: WEC member companies, and multinationals (MNCs) based in China, have a 4% higher proportion of women in the workforce compared to the global private sector, with 41.2% compared to 37% globally. The WEC also has a 3% higher proportion of women in top-level leadership compared to APAC, with 30.9% versus 28%, which is on par with global, having reached 31% for the first time on record this year.
There were special guests invited to provide a deeper insight into progress in China and in the international community.
Mu Hong, Director General, Liaison Department, All-China Women’s Federation, shared the local perspective on advancing gender equality in China. "China will adhere to the path of peaceful development and will continue promoting the all-round development of women. As Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out, in the 21st century, creating a better life is inseparable from the comprehensive progress of the women's cause. We must promote the simultaneous development of women, economy, and society, actively advocating for women's rights and interests." stated Mu Hong.
While Lui Tuck Yew, Ambassador for the Republic of Singapore to the PRC shared his perspectives on gender equity in the international community. He mentioned that a few years back, there were no females in leadership roles, and today the president of Singapore is female, a Singaporean politician and former lawyer who has been serving as the eighth president of Singapore since 2017. Moreover, the overall representation of women in the country increased.
At the Forum, the WEC launched its inaugural DEI Report, which defined and measured Diversity and showcased strategies and best practices by WEC members in Equity and Inclusion.
“To move the needle, it is necessary to have clear terminology. We have to understand where we are and hold people accountable in order to drive meaningful change. WEC members continually share and learn from each other and are keen to review their diversity metrics and programs to drive equity, and explore how to build an inclusive culture,” noted Diane Ho, WEC Partner, who co-presented with Selena Chu, Vice President of Dow and WEC Co-Chair.
The findings show that there is a higher proportion of women in back-office, support roles (58.6%) in comparison to customer-facing, revenue-generating roles (36.1%). In addition, women are in the minority in manufacturing and production roles (17.3%). WEC companies have set goals to balance the representation of women and men in leadership roles, i.e. Volvo Cars and Merck aim to have 50%-50% in leadership by 2030.
In the first panel discussion on “Changing Systemic Bias Through Tangible Action,” the market-leading best practices of companies strive and have succeeded to empower women in the workplace. Changemaker panelists were Jacob Cooke, Co-Founder, and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, Yali Z. Liu, Executive Vice President of Chayora, Marcus Williams, Director of Customer Support for Boeing Tianjin Composites (BTC) and Chairman of the Executive Committee for the AmCham China Tianjin Chapter together with Vivian Zhang, General Manager, Merck China Healthcare. They shared the purpose and processes of their organizations' most innovative DEI initiatives, programs, and policies. Moderated by Grace Bin Pei, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for Capacity Building Assessment Center (CBAC), key points included:
Be aware of own biases we have accumulated because of our background, experiences, and culture
Don’t expect employees to place their families behind their work
Invest in education continually in the organization about DE&I as well as in young girls in rural China, to help them believe in themselves as capable and competent leaders who can contribute to society
At the Lightning Talks, “Amplifying Entrepreneurial Women,” reputable female leaders, Poh-Yian Koh, VP Operations, FedEx Express Inc. China, Roberta Lipson, Vice Chair of New Frontier Health and Founder of United Family Healthcare, and Shirley Wu, Senior VIP, Dell Greater China, shared their personal stories. “Every leader has unconscious biases and blind spots. Therefore, there is a need to seek input and feedback from the team to make the right decision. It enables collaboration and reciprocal respect.” said Koh.
The women leaders offered practical advice to women and shared the importance of resilience and well-being as well as self-empowerment to make ideas a reality and be prepared in all possible situations. “I wanted to ‘have it all’ and feel it is our responsibility as leaders to help other women achieve their personal and professional dreams,” said Roberta Lipson.
The second panel, “Inclusion Starts from the Top Down,” reinforces that to fully leverage the potential of a diverse workforce, it is vital to create a culture where everyone can thrive. In this discussion, Helen Hu, Deputy CEO, Head of Legal, Volvo Cars Asia Pacific, Jane Wong Pinter, Head of HR, Henkel Greater China, Andy Truong, Executive Director, AKD International Inc, Canada; Co-founder, Canadian Alumni Network, China; Board Executive, Educating Girls of Rural China and Fernando Vallina, Lead Country Manager, ExxonMobil China, delved into the evidence-based benefits of inclusion and shared their challenges and learnings. Cindy Jensen, Executive Coach, and Founder, INPOWER ONE, moderated the panel and key insights included, “for leaders, the easiest and most effective aspect is to create opportunities to fully listen to everyone. This is especially important for newcomers...the feeling that their opinion matters are the very start makes them feel they belong to the organization” stated Hu. Jane Wong Pinter, the Head of HR at Henkel, added that having a proactive approach and asking their employees what they think and need, has helped them to implement the right policies and open more opportunities for women to grow. “That’s how you can see the inclusion in practice and feel how it makes a difference,” said Jane.
All Forum guests participated in the interactive workshop, “Be the Change by Committing to Action”, where they exchanged their ideas and committed to actions to advance gender equality. A key focus of the Forum is to influence the broader community to take individual actions to empower women.
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Special thanks to our sponsors for their support, which enabled us to make a significant impact on an individual, organizational, and community level in China and beyond.
The Women Empowerment Council (WEC) is an engaged network of leaders and decision-makers that aims to advance gender equality in businesses in China and beyond.
The Women's Empowerment Council is a community of leaders and policymakers that promotes gender equality in businesses in China and other countries.