The story appears on

Page A7

March 30, 2017

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Opinion » Chinese Views

Giving women a place and respect in the workplace

Panelists at a recent conference on women in the workforce aired their views on the evolving implication of gender equality.

They showcased exemplary corporate initiatives in responding to the call for greater equality and diversity at the Second annual HeforShe conference held in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Hosted by AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) Shanghai, the event this year was themed on “Paving the Way to the Top — Solutions for Advancing Gender Diversity,” and focused on corporate responses that make a real difference.

The HeforShe Solidarity movement, launched by UN Women in September, 2014, calls for men and women to work together to end gender inequality.

Sarah Kochling, co-founder and co-chair of the AmCham Shanghai Women’s Executive Network, highlighted the importance of educating people about gender balance at work.

“Today’s corporate leaders recognize that diversity is just smart business — whether it’s providing them better access to female-driven markets, strengthening their workforce engagement or supporting superior innovation initiatives by accommodating different points of view,” she said.

“Just like working across cultures, working across genders is increasingly being identified as an important management skill for all employees,” Kochling said.

Recent Catalyst Corporate winners Gap Inc. and Procter & Gamble have introduced policy initiatives and programs to encourage diversity, highlighting how their focus on women has helped business.

“At Gap Inc, equality for all employees has been deeply embedded in our culture since our company has been equally invested by a female and a male, Doris and Don Fisher,” said Aina Konold, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Gap Inc, Greater China.

She said she has been fortunate to work for and be mentored by many working women, many of whom are mothers like her.

Konold also identified some factors affecting working women, as shaped by Chinese culture, for instance: the great availability of grandparents to help with the care of grandchildren, and the greater parental and social pressure for women aged 25-30 to find a spouse, or be seen as “leftovers.” Such factors affect their ability to work.

Norbert Ehlert, general manager of human resources at P&G in China, stressed the company’s commitment to providing equal access to education and economic opportunities.

“As a company that understands women and girls, we are leveraging our insights to uncover gender bias and taking action to spark conversations and set new expectations that motivate change,” Ehlert said.

Identifying female leadership

Ehlert says his company has been good at identifying female leadership very early in their life, adding the company is achieving diversity goals through its brands, its corporate voice, and the help of people and partners inside and outside the company.

Li Qiang, Co-Country Managing Partner China for DLA Piper, points out China’s policies have boosted the number of women working.

In China women’s labor participation has been consistently very high.

Problems remain. During the March 8 Women’s Day, women might have a day off, have some fun, but there are still challenges in our understanding of diversity.

Li stressed the importance of gender equality, pointing out that as a professional service provider, the key to success is building trust within the team.

Michael Wong, HR partner for EY Greater China, pointed to the importance of assessing performance by focusing on results, rather than face time, as family obligations mean flexibility in working hours might work better for some women employees.

“As a result of technology, as long as they can finish their job, it does not really matter whether this is done at home, on a train, or a plane,” he says.

Panelists also discussed what companies are doing to increase the visibility of women in traditionally male dominated STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) organizations.

Since gender equality is not just a women’s issue, AmCham Shanghai believes that men have a crucial role to play in achieving equality and diversity.

AmCham Shanghai’s Women’s Executive Network was established in 2014 as part of the Chamber’s commitment to promoting female leadership and gender equality in the workplace.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend