Rome was not built in one day. It is the same for diversity and inclusion. It has been over a century since women were given the same voting rights as men yet there are still many issues remained in terms of gender diversity even in the metropolitan Hong Kong.
On October 5 and 6, Rethink brought to Hong Kong a two days conference with over 2000 attendees joining in person to explore all aspects in sustainability and Womentors was the proud content partner to put together Rethinking Women in Business on day 2. In just half a day, we had brought to the conference:
13 fantastic speakers led by
4 awesome moderators in
4 mind blowing panels
Kicking start the afternoon Womentors co-founder Lena Wong brought the reality of gender diversity situation and how much issues remained in the metropolitan city of Hong Kong.
Following in the panel of Rethinking Women in Leadership, Maria Blanca, COO and co-founder of Womentors moderated outstanding female business social services and diplomatic leaders - Ada Wong, CEO of Champion REIT, Shalini Mahtani of The Zubin Foundation and Tamsin Heath of British Consulate-General respectively to uncover ways in which women can climb up the corporate ladders overcoming all the glass ceilings, gender stereotypes and unconscious biases.
The Sustainable Communities Theatre was gradually filled with eager supporters and advocates of diversity and inclusion as we brought in the next panel on Rethinking Women in Start ups with 3 female entrepreneurs - Karena Belin of WHub, Olivia Cotes-James of LUÜNA naturals and Devana Ng of Invisible Company moderated by Victoria Wisniewski Otero of Resolve Foundation. The panel took us on a thriving discussion on challenges of female led ventures in capital raising to how females are more social responsible in many aspects.
Next panel of the afternoon was led by Peter Sargant, Community Business to explore Rethinking Women at Workplace. Panelists,
Denman Chan of Procter & Gamble,
Lucy Jordan of The University of Hong Kong
Haryati Megumi Versace of BlackRock discussed issues faced by female at the workplace and some of the best practises to support female talents at work.
Rethink Women in Business wrapped up with the final panel with perspectives of investors and driving forces of ESG. Panel of three talented females in finance including
Ivy Au Yeung of OCBC Bank, Jasmine Ling of HSBC and Christine Yu of Lapidary Limited. Moderated by Adam Harper, the panel shared from an investor perspective how gender diversity is a gateway to building a sustainable business.
At Womentors we strive to work with companies to build better inclusive workplaces to retain and attract talents of diverse background. We provide consultation and training to companies and professional women to create sustainable strategies that empower more women in all level of the corporate ladder.
In coming year, Womentors is launching the first of its kind Women’s Leadership Program - a 12 week programme preparing female executives to take up directorship and leadership roles. The programme is jointly organized with numerous professional associations to bring all aspects of knowledge and skills female talents can equip themselves for their next step towards the boardrooms. Click here for an overview of the programme outline.
Womentors also believe there is a big pool of untapped resources in the labour market in Hong Kong. When we are on the path of economic recovery post Covid, the city is in need for massive labour force. To meet this increasing demand of talents, companies need to wake up to realise the need to provide more flexibility to attract those talents who may have other care taking responsibilities. Bringing women and men who had taken career break is another way to utilise the idle resources and create shared value. Our Returnship Program provide a structured environment through which the candidates will receive work assignments or be part of a team project, that can help them reintegrate into the workforce and acclimate to the organisation.
The journey to gender diversity is a long haul and Womentors believes in walking the talks. DM us to learn more on how we can build better workplaces together.
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