On March 10, the Consulate General of New Zealand in Shanghai and the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai co-hosted a women’s speed chat and breakfast event to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023. This event was held at New Zealand center, bringing women together to share positive gender-related stories to help women grow professionally and beyond.
Diane Ho, Partner at the Women Empowerment Council, was the keynote speaker of the event. Given that 2020-2022 is a particularly hard time for many people, Diane’s message focused on empowering women in the workplace from a health and well-being perspective.
So what is empowerment? As Diane shared, empowerment means people having the right to control their lives and the access to support that’s right for them. Empowerment means that people are equal citizens, respected and empowered in their community.
Why is it important to empower women? According to UN Women, empowering women can promote economic diversification, income equality, and support overall economic growth. But even with various policies to promote equality in workplace, women are more tired and exhausted than ever. One way to improve your health and well-being is to focus on “managing energy rather than time” — measured in four dimensions: mental, emotional, physical and mental health. Also, Diane suggested all women take some time to care about themselves and prioritize happiness.
After Diane’s keynote, guests participated in a speed chat networking session in which guests talked to each other, made new acquaintances, and discussed the challenges women may face in workplace: how to use social networks and how to empower and support each other’s health and well-being in the workplace. The 6 rounds of 5 minute speed chats was by far the most popular aspect of the activity.
Nearly 60 women from diverse fields, including business leaders, NGOs, academics, diplomats, and the media attended the event. Guests said they had the chance to meet old friends and made new allies through the event.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Embrace Equity”. In Canada, they believe that gender equality is a human rights issue and essential to to achieve prosperity, sustainable development, social justice and security. Promoting gender equality and empowering women (wāhine) is also a priority for New Zealand. The promotion of women’s full participation from all aspects has been a constant theme in New Zealand since it became the first country to empower women to vote in 1893.
Together, we can promote better gender equality. On International Women’s Day, New Zealand and Canada celebrates equality for all.