On October 23, 2024, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) successfully hosted the 2024 Women in Leadership Forum with the participation of senior officials of the United Nations and the United Nations Global Compact in China. This year’s forum brought together a dynamic group of leaders, innovators, and change-makers to explore two vital topics: the role of women succeeding family businesses and women leading organizations and multinational companies. The event sparked immense interest among the business community in Shanghai and surrounding regions, providing a platform for rich dialogue and actionable insights to over 500 participating business professionals.
The forum commenced with opening remarks from Jin Pei, the Vice-Chair of the Shanghai Women’s Federation Association, who expressed, “We’re delighted to see women making their mark across various fields of economic and social development.” Following Jin Pei’s address Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China, delivered a special video message, where he emphasized some of the ongoing gender disparities at the top of the corporate ladder, citing that “Women only hold 19.7% of board seats, 6.7% of board chairs, 5% of CEOs and 15.7% of CFO positions. He urged that achieving gender equality is “an essential and urgent necessity” for economic prosperity and stability.
Echoing this sentiment, Liu Meng, Head of China at the UN Global Compact, emphasized that structural changes need to take place within organizations,
“Extensive research shows that women in leadership roles contribute to increased productivity, collaboration, and motivation within organizations; however, realizing this dividend requires leadership, strategic investments, and comprehensive policy reforms to remove the barriers that hinder women from taking on these roles.”
Doctor Li Haitao, Dean and Dean’s Distinguished Chair Professor of Finance at CKGSB, underscored the critical role women play in family enterprises. “The long-term development of a business relies on a commitment to long-termism and altruism, and women often possess superior soft skills needed for leadership, such as communication, decision-making, and long-term strategy.”
After Dean Li’s speech, the event featured a panel titled “Empowering Next-Gen Female Successors in Family Enterprises,” where three CKGSB alumnae shared their journeys and strategies in leading their family businesses. Lin Zhi, Founder of MOZ Space, Designer, Art Curator, and CKGSB EMBA alumna, stressed the role of trust and empowerment in developing future female leaders: “You need to trust their abilities and give them space to make decisions and grow.”
Yan Yimin, Assistant President and Board Member of Shanghai Guandian Electric Group and CKGSB alumna, spoke on her balanced leadership style:
“As a woman in leadership, I take a conservative and steady approach, prioritizing employee well-being and fostering a strong company culture. This approach ensures that we expand strategically rather than rushing into new ventures.”
Zhang Yiqing, Executive Director of Kangtong Biological Research and Development and CKGSB Executive Education alumna, urged aspiring female leaders to commit to ongoing growth: “My advice to aspiring female leaders is to embrace continuous learning. Be confident and keep seeking opportunities to expand your knowledge and skills.” The panel discussion was moderated by Xinyu Fan, CKGSB’s Assistant Professor of Economics.
After the panel discussion, the event continued with a keynote speech by Zhang Xiaomeng, CKGSB’s Associate Dean and Professor of Organizational Behaviour. She opened by emphasizing the significant gap remaining in achieving gender equality, noting, “In the decade to come, if we want to narrow the gender gap, we will need an annual investment of 360 billion USD.” She also drew upon the findings from of her extended study between 2020-2024, which analyzes the resilience of men and women at various levels in the workplace. She revealed that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the resilience of both genders in the workplace has increased dramatically, but has increased more substantially among women. She also shared findings from a recent report on the impact of AI across genders, concluding that “Generative AI is likely to be a technological force that can help increase gender equality in the workplace.”
Following Professor Zhang Xiaomeng’s speech, the event moved onto a panel discussion with Lily Guan, President of Cargill China, Poh-Yian Koh, President of FedEx China, and Charlotte Smart, Consul of Science and Tech at the British Consulate-General Shanghai. The discussion centered around the topic of the “broken rung” on the corporate ladder – a term used to describe the obstacles women face when progressing beyond entry-level management roles into higher positions.
Smart emphasized, “Social perceptions of women differ from those of men, and the workplace pressures women face can sometimes be invisible. We need to maintain a positive mindset and use it as a starting point to gradually shift cultural biases and promote the development of diverse leadership. Poh-Yian Koh highlighted that “Women are more responsible than men; but because of this, women often take on too much for themselves.” Lily Guan focused on the untapped potential of female leaders, emphasizing that many people are not trained as a leaders but have enormous potential. “I think unleashing that potential is so important,” she said.
The forum also featured a final panel discussion on promoting business for good and social innovation from female perspectives. Moderated by Dr, Zhu Rui, Professor of Marketing, Director of ESG and Social Innovation Center at CKGSB, three CKGSB alumnae who discussed how they incorporate ESG principles, business for good, and social innovation strategies into their institutions’ core practices under the mentorship of Professor Zhu.
Xu Zaoxia, Founder and President of Anxin Group and Alumna of CKGSB’s Business Scholars Program, emphasized that “The purpose of every business should be to address a societal issue.” Tang Zhanxin, Vice-Chairwoman of China Association of Persons with Physical Disability, President of Novel Inception Philanthropy, CKGSB EMBA Alumna agreed with Xu, noting that “Companies need to delve into their organizational DNA to identify the sustainable business practices that they can offer.” Jane Gong, Founder and Chairperson of the Board, Olive Times, CKGSB EMBA & Executive Education Alumna, said, “The collective efforts of society are needed to enable socially innovative business practices to drive local products, tourism, and agri-businesses.”
The Women in Leadership Forum has become CKGSB’s flagship since 2013 event embracing the empowerment of next-generation female leaders and inspiring over 2 million attendees online and offline. The success of the 2024 Women in Leadership Forum underscores CKGSB’s dedication to empowering the next generation of female leaders and advancing gender equality on a global scale. This year’s forum was hosted by CKGSB with the support of the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai, Swiss Chamber of Commerce, and Canada China Business Council.
