Hong Kong has seen an increasing number of women taking leadership roles in the financial and professional industries, a trend that bodes well for the city’s future talent development and economic growth, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.
“Research consistently shows that organisations with diverse leadership, including women at the helm, are more agile, more empathetic, more creative and better equipped to achieve long-term success,” Chan said at the first Women Chief Executives Summit on Monday.
He noted that there was an increasing trend of women preparing to take leadership roles. “Now, more than half of our solicitors and professional accountants are women – a leap from just 30 per cent two decades ago,” Chan said. “On our campuses, nearly 60 per cent of students majoring in business and management are women.”
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He added that “these are not mere statistics – they are the future market-makers, fintech innovators and next-generation CEOs”.
The half-day summit was attended by more than 200 C-suite women leaders, including many who flew in from overseas, marking the largest conference ever held with the theme of women’s leadership.
The summit is attended by C-suite women leaders, including many who flew in from overseas. Photo: Sun Yeung alt=The summit is attended by C-suite women leaders, including many who flew in from overseas. Photo: Sun Yeung>
The summit took place at the Connect Hall of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), whose CEO, Bonnie Chan Yiting, is the first woman to hold the post. Other key speakers included Standard Chartered Hong Kong CEO Mary Huen Wai-yi and UBS co-head of wealth management Asia-Pacific Amy Lo Choi-wan.
“Each of you in this room is living proof,” Paul Chan said. “Your presence here speaks volumes about the growing leadership of women in business.”
He also cited a KPMG report released last week, which showed women held 45 per cent of senior leadership roles such as CEOs in banks, asset management companies, insurers and fintech firms in the city, marking an increase of 11 percentage points from 2018.
“Hong Kong is making great strides in expanding gender leadership in finance,” Paul Chan said. “According to the report, Hong Kong ranks top for societal acceptance of female leaders, and some 70 per cent of women feel encouraged to lead.” Hong Kong was also “doing well in terms of safety [within the city] and enabling work-life balance”.
