2023 Q3 Newsletter
How to Help Men and Women Equally Succeed in the Workplace
The WEC quarterly newsletter explores the latest thought leadership on women empowerment and DEI, showcases the significant efforts and progress made by our committed Members, and highlights special announcements and updates about the council.
Thought Leadership
Explore the latest learnings on women empowerment and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Career Dilemma and Ways Forward
In answering the question of how to empower men and women to equally succeed, it is critical that we understand the state of the current playing field. Our 2023 Healthy Women Healthy Economies (HWHE) White Paper, commissioned by Merck, shows that professional women place career as a top factor when planning to start a family – as the one who must bear the child, women are often uncertain how their employer will treat them if they decide to have a child. In addition to maternity leave and needing to juggle much more after starting a family, some women have had to slow down or even shift their career aspirations. This is often never a consideration for men. In China and around the world, women must face this crossroad to decide how to pursue their career goals while running against their biological clock. It is never easy to choose. The feeling that they may have to sacrifice their career in order to have a family leads to the Career Dilemma faced by women and the reality is it creates inherent inequities in the workplace.
Our HWHE study shows that over 70% of working women find balancing children and careers extremely hard, especially due to the male advantages to advance professionally while females taking maternity leave.
Our quantitative survey also shows a strong belief among professional women that a supportive company structure and culture can help them progress in their career while balancing their family planning. Given the ample research showing diversity in teams means better decision making and higher profitability, increasingly more companies are keen to retain and promote women. Companies can provide a more equitable workplace for men and women to help address the extra burdens placed on women who bear the children and are often the primary caretakers at home.
Secondary and primary market research highlights some pioneering and productive policies and programs in the private sector for companies to consider and implement:
In addition to the policies and programs noted above, companies may also want to consider how to provide employees with accurate information and reliable resources on reproductive and fertility health. In our research, we found a significant knowledge and service gap among women on their fertility and reproductive health which is traditionally a taboo topic among Chinese. To close the gap, both the public and private sector need to play a role through awareness campaigns and forums to break the stigma of this topic and help to start leveling the playing field.
Member Spotlight
Learn about the significant efforts made by our passionate and committed WEC Members to empower women and drive diversity, equity, and inclusion in their organizations or the wider community.
#EmbraceEquity – bpWIN’s long-standing efforts
At bp, we believe in a world of equal opportunities, with fair treatment according to each individual’s needs. We are working hard to create greater diversity equity and inclusion (DE&I) across our business. And we want all of our people to know that they can be themselves at work every day.
Gender equity is one of the most important DE&I topics for us. We recognize people of all genders and identities, and we are committed to creating a culture that enables all our people to share their gender identity. We ask our employees to voluntarily disclose their gender (if they are comfortable to do so). With the global launch of the bp Self-ID survey this year, we aim to reach rates that will enable reporting of all gender identities, to help us deepen our understanding of the diversity of our workforce.
Besides corporate efforts, we also have Business Resource Group (BRG) which are led by our employees and continue to be a foundational component of our DE&I program. Among all our BRG’s, bpWIN (Women International Network) is the one that aims to support women and drive gender equity in bp.
Today, bpWIN exists across multiple levels including:
- Global committee that is composed of group level leaders who advocate for change at the highest level
- Regional Committees led by One Team Leads to support Chapters in 3 regions –Americas, EMEA and AsPac
- Chapters which exist at a local level / business level to ensure that their voices are passed through to the global committee
Each year, bpWIN organizes various events and engagement sessions. On occasion of the 2023 International Women’s Day, bpWIN launched a global campaign themed #EmbraceEquity. We held three regional webcasts on 7 and 8 March. Each webcast covered the same topics: “Making the workplace work for all” and “Who we are – recognizing equity allies”. Our discussions focused on the relevant regions in each session and we also heard from very special guest, former NASA astronaut, Dr Sandra Magnus! With the efforts of bpWIN, we made IWD both a day to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of women and a reminder that no woman should be left behind in our progress.
Here in China, the gender topic is largely driven by our bpWIN China chapter, which focused on driving gender diversity, supporting and empowering women in both career and personal development. In Chinese and Asian society, women are sometimes expected to take a backseat role, but bp encourages women to be proactive and be in the driver’s seat of their careers.
On occasion of this year’s International Women Engineering Day in June, bpWIN China Chapter hosted a session themed “Make Safety Seen”. Senior leaders including bp China President Simon Yang joined the session in person to share their personal stories, and exchanged unique perspectives on how gender diversity will help drive safety including psychological safety.
Over the past years, bpWIN China Chapter has worked incredibly hard to drive gender equity not just within bp but also outside of the organization. As a long-standing member of the Women Empowerment Council (WEC), bpWIN China Chapter contributed to WEC’s first DE&I report and joined WEC’s various events to promote gender topic. The partnership is also extended to bp’s strategic business partner on gender equity in career as well as mental health.
Through these initiatives, bpWIN China chapter not only helped create a broadened sense of community and inclusion for bp employees, but also advocate for DE&I change outside of bp and help bp attract more women leaders and talents.
These efforts collectively contribute to bp’s agenda to achieve 35% women in senior level leadership (SLL) by 2035. And our gender ambition seeks to be a company where gender balance is evident.
Volvo Car held the first “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day”
To help female students better understand their future career choices and share the spirit of innovation with the younger generation, Volvo Car APAC held the first “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” this summer. 21 girls from 5 different middle schools in Jiading, Shanghai had the chance to experience the real work life at Volvo Car APAC Headquarters and get inspired for their future career choices.
This amazing day started with a tour of APAC Headquarters. Walking through the Scandinavian design offices and listening to Volvo brand story, students experienced the authentic Swedish culture and work environment. In “Volvo Car Safety School”, girls got to understand what safety, health and sustainability mean to Volvo Car. Through “HER story @ Volvo”, they listened to Volvo female engineers from R&D and Procurement & Logistics about their career stories at Volvo Car. They also exchanged ideas about career choices. During the Innovation Workshop, students applied innovation principle in brainstorming for future mobility.
“Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” aims to help female students break through the gender boundaries when making career choices and experience the actual work life. With the first successful launch, Volvo Car APAC will seek more opportunities to interact with schools and students for this purpose.
Progress Report
Catch up on this quarter’s special announcements, programs, and speaking engagements.
Cornerstone Events
2023 Women Empowerment Conference & Awards
On September 13, WEC successfully held our annual cornerstone event, the 2023 Women Empowerment Conference and Awards at China World Hotel, Beijing. The Conference & Awards welcomed a total of over 400 members of the local and global communities in person, and over 1400 attendees who joined us via livestream.
The Conference featured an outstanding slate of pioneering industry leaders and entrepreneurs who are dedicated to advancing gender equality in China and beyond through industry best practices and innovation. The Conference also marked the official launch of the Merck-commissioned Healthy Women Healthy Economies (HWHE) White Paper, with thought-provoking and assumption-breaking insights about the various challenges professional women in China face as they navigate balancing their family planning with their career advancement. Most excitingly, the Conference featured an exclusive interview with Li Na, former Chinese tennis player and 2-time Grand Slam champion. Her success story as a tennis player and a businesswoman reinforces the message that a well-rounded support system, from home to work, can empower women to unleash their full potential as active contributors of the economy.
Following the Conference, the WEC organized our 3rd annual Women Empowerment Awards in China to celebrate trailblazing organizations and individuals that have demonstrated a robust commitment to gender equality in China. The seven winners of this year’s 7 categories went through a rigorous process overseen by an independent and impartial panel of expert judges. The Awards Ceremony was honored to welcome back 2022 Awards Winners, as well as Ambassadors and diplomatic dignitaries from the Embassies of Finland, France, Germany, Lebanon, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland to announce our top 3 finalists and winners for all seven categories.
Member Activities
“Inclusive Leadership” Workshop with Volvo Cars
On August 1, WEC and Volvo co-hosted our ”Empowering All to Be Inclusive Leaders” workshop as a part of the Volvo Sustainability Leadership Program (SLP). The event took place from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and had a total of 22 participants, including 17 male and 5 female leaders. Jenny Chen, a WEC trainer, led and facilitated the workshop, with the incredible support of Christine Cai from the Volvo team.
Throughout the workshop, the participants actively engaged with the content, shared valuable insights, and collaborated effectively within their diverse teams. The workshop followed a structured flow to explore the concept of inclusive leadership: Leadership Style Test Tool (Lumina Learning), Group Discussion and Presentations on Inclusivity, Group Discussion and Presentations on Inclusive Leadership Characteristics, and Case Study Analysis.
“Embrace Equity” Workshop with ConocoPhillips
On August 3rd, WEC hosted a workshop titled “Embracing Equity” in collaboration with ConocoPhillips China (COPC). The event, conducted in English, welcomed 30 in-person attendees in COPC Beijing office along with 20 online participants joining from COPC Tanggu office and ConocoPhillips offices in Malaysia and Singapore. The workshop began with an introduction by Lydia Zhou, VP of HR & Communications at COPC. Lydia has long been a proponent of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The participants also had the great opportunity to interact with our esteemed guest speaker, Poh-Yian Koh, who serves as the China Vice President at FedEx Express.
Summer Gathering: WEC Members & Friends
On August 30, Country Chairman of ExxonMobil China, Jean-Marc Taton, a dedicated member of the WEC, hosted a post-summer social gathering for our WEC network, joined by executive leaders from Abbott, Albemarle, Audi, ExxonMobil, Dell, Goldman Sachs, Intel, General Motors, The Economist, and UFH. The leaders discussed the importance of continued efforts by industry leaders and companies to advance policies that will help men and women succeed equally at work and at home.
WIN Initiative: Focus Group 1
On August 25, the WEC hosted our first Focus Group for the WEC Women Inclusion Network (WIN) initiative at Merck Group’s Shanghai office. The focus group welcomed leaders of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) of our member companies, including bp, ConocoPhillips, Dow, FedEx, Henkel, HPE and Merck. The participants engaged in thoughtful conversations about the challenges faced by women ERGs, providing a much clearer landscape of ERGs in China. The insights from the WIN initiative will be featured in a White Paper published by the WEC in 2024.
