Saluting women at the helm

A risky $600 million decision to replace a historic hotel, taking over the helm of the largest ferry service in the world, leading the operations of a global investment bank or emerging as a famous singer and actress, are just a few of the accomplishments of eight successful women recognized at the inaugural Asian Women Leadership Awards.
Jointly organized by China Daily and the Asia News Network, the awards honor successful women who are role models in entrepreneurship, innovation and charity, and who are dedicated to change.
“In Asia, women make up about half of the workforce, including here in Hong Kong. And the number of women in leadership positions is growing,” said Raymond Yip, deputy executive director at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
But there is still room for improvement.
Some of the leading entrepreneurs and innovators in Asia are women. The participation of women in the labor force is 53 percent. And yet, women remain underrepresented both in the workforce and in boardrooms, said Yip.
The awards were held after a China Daily roundtable on Leading Asia: Women as Change Agents, Innovators and Entrepreneurs. The event on Jan 19 was part of the Asian Financial Forum, a two-day gathering of business, economic and government leaders in Hong Kong.
The move towards greater gender equality in Asia is ongoing. It has been both visible and significant. For most of the women on the panel, who received the awards, gender has not been a barrier.
“This is a business issue. It is a global issue. It is not just for women,” said Rebecca Brosnan, managing director and head of product development at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx). She is also the cofounder of the Women’s Exchange within HKEx, which provides support to help women reach higher levels in their careers.
Labor participation in Asia drops from 85 percent among young women to 45 percent by the time they reach 55 years of age. Many leave to look after parents or children or raise families. Addressing this gap is one of the goals of the program.
“Women get cut off halfway and it is very difficult to get back in,” said Brosnan.
These difficulties are not lost on Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific and an editorial board member of the China Daily Group, who pointed out the accomplishments of the participants.
“For today’s panel discussion we have lined up a glittering array of women, each highly distinguished in her own field,” said Zhou. “Entrepreneurs, CEOs, government officials, artists … all of them have contributed to the economy in a significant way and achieved career milestones that many aspire to but few achieve.”
The issues that women in general, and these women in particular, have to overcome to reach their goals vary from country to country. In Thailand, for example, there are fewer barriers for women than in most other places in Asia. There, the challenges may be more business-focused but no less daunting.
“Women in Thailand are lucky, because there is no gender issue in Thailand,” said Chadatip Chutrakul, CEO of Siam Piwat, a retail and property development company. “We are lucky in our country.”
Chutrakul was responsible for changing the direction of the group she runs, tearing down a historic hotel to build a $600 million shopping center that proved to be a success. She said women in Thailand often have as many opportunities as men, thanks to a society that perceives few differences and welcomes women to fill everything from business roles to royalty.
For Pansy Ho, managing director of Shun Tak Holdings in Hong Kong, entering the family business was not a gender decision but a business one. Among many other interests, the Shun Tak conglomerate runs ferries in the Pearl River Delta region.
“At that time, the ferry business was 99 percent run by men,” she said. “The business was deteriorating. We were suffering from image problems.
“I offered the women’s perspective, which was the customers’ perspective,” added Ho. “From that, which was 1995, we have a fleet that is the world’s largest and we have the highest frequency in the world.”
And the number of women within the company has risen significantly and spread into new roles, including a ferry captain. Women can be key innovators, said Ho.
Younger than most of the other women on the panel, Dianna Lee, Group CEO at Country Heights, a Malaysian property developer, entered the family business about a decade ago. Her first job was as a housekeeper, cleaning the staff toilets, she said.
“Gender did not come up as an issue for me, because everything I had to do I had to do equally well,” said Lee. “Then, when there was a change in management, the board decided ‘well, let Dianna have a try’… The board has shifted its perception to look at women equally.”
Acceptance of new attitudes is a relatively new thing in Asia, but the change is happening quickly.
“I never thought in my life that I would take up equal opportunities issues,” said Christine Loh, under secretary for the environment in Hong Kong. “It is opportunistic. It is not something that I always thought would be the most important thing.
“Sometimes you have to go with the flow. I had to go with the flow in Hong Kong.”
One thing the speakers had in common was their motivation to succeed regardless of gender issues.
“I have a piece of advice for the ladies, and the men — take risks,” said Benedicte Nolens, senior director and head of risk and strategy at the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. “First thing is to take risks.
“The second important message is women are equal to men, until they need to have babies,” said Nolens. It is important to find a balance and a support network, she added.
For the speakers and award winners on the panel, the rise of women and their career trajectories have coincided with the rise of Asia as a global economic powerhouse. In the case of Jing Ulrich, managing director and vice-chairman for Asia Pacific at JPMorgan Chase, the rise of her career coincided with the rise of China.
Ulrich, who grew up in Beijing, has had a stellar career as a China analyst and investment banker.
“One of the best pieces of advice I could give to young women is the importance of education,” said Ulrich, who studied at both Harvard University and Stanford University in the United States.
“When I graduated, I not only graduated with a degree in English literature but with a degree in self-confidence.”
Two things are important, she said. One is to have confidence in yourself and the second is to find something that you love.
Women can find it difficult to balance family commitments and careers, said Miriam Yeung, a well-known actress and singer with dozens of film credits and albums under her belt who is also a director at Hong Kong-based company Media Asia Group Holdings. Courage, patience and perseverance are key to succeed, she said.
“Women should not belittle themselves,” added Yeung. “My success factors are … commitment, patience and courage. This is always my gospel.
“My gospel has never let me down. This gospel has let me grow from a normal practicing nurse to where I am now, a recognized singer and actress,” said Yeung.

Source: http://www.chinadailyasia.com/2016-01/22/content_15376647.html