Push to get talented women back to work

Many Hong Kong women who left their high posts in the workplace to attend to their families for prolonged periods represent an untapped pool of talent for employers, says Rebecca Brosnan, managing director and head of product development at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx).
In the SAR, some 30 percent of married women quit their jobs either for the sake of their children, aging parents or family obligations, she told the 2016 Asian Women Leadership Awards and Roundtable.
After some time, many of these women consider returning to work, but may run into obstacles in finding a route back. The Women’s Exchange (WEx) at HKEx introduced a “Back to Work” program in May 2013 to encourage and support female professionals to rejoin the workforce and contribute to the financial industry.
The WEx is a staff club designed to expand women’s role in decision-making and leadership within the HKEx Group, and the program is aimed at experienced professionals with eight to 10 years’ experience who have been out of the work force for some time.
Brosnan said her personal motivation to launch the WEx is very much connected to her passion for gender diversity.
She believes gender diversity can make business better because “it’s very important that we get all different perspectives around the table”.
Currently, about 30 percent of HKEx’s staff at the managing director level are women, and HKEx is trying to raise that percentage.
Therefore, the goal is to recruit women at the level just below the rank of senior vice-president, which means that senior women can be brought in from outside.
Brosnan believes the “Back to Work” program is one way to fill the gap. Under the initial phase of the program, eight women out of more than 30 applicants enrolled, and were given two months of training in business skills and network building. Three offers were made and two were accepted.
Brosnan said she had personally coached several female employees in the company and found all of them impressive.
In one case, a woman had been out of work for 12 years, raising two children, while another raised six children after being out of work for 10 years.
However, according to Brosnan, those women who do make a comeback are less confident about business skills than those who have remained in the workforce, and had lost their professional contacts after quitting their jobs.
She said the WEx’s next step is to start a financial literacy program and expand the network to enterprises listed on the HKEx.
“Women make a lot of consumption decisions, but tend to be more afraid of making financial decisions,” Brosnan explained. “I would like to see women fully empowered with finances.”
Source： http://www.chinadailyasia.com/2016-01/22/content_15376487.html