4 December2022Editor NoteFew Women in Director Roles Make Hong Kong Lag behind the Gender Parity Race Hong Kong has been under the influence of the traditional Chinese patriarchal set-up with strict gender stereotypes. But the mid 199s saw the emergence of the working woman which questioned and challenged these long standing gender roles. While earlier men were expected to be the breadwinners and women the house wives, gradually women ventured out into the world to work. Based on statistics by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, women within the age range of 30-39 have become more economically active between 1991 and 2015. Between the same frame women's participation in the Hong-Kong workforce saw a 74 percent increase. Cut to 2022 and the Hong Kong corporate world has several women working across all industries and roles. But how has their ascent to leadership roles been? Unfortunately, rather gradual. Reports suggest that most of the top listed organizations from Hong Kong are lagging behind the global average when it comes to gender parity in the workplace. According to a survey of all the listed companies women form only 13.1 percent as directors with their number going up t0 1870. Of these 48.8 percent are Executive Directors, 33.3 percent are Independent Non-Executive Directors and 18.3 percent are Non-Executive Directors. Ratio wide for every 7.31 male directors there are 0.99 female directors. The numbers are bleak to say the least. But that does not discount the thousands of talented women leaders who have been creating waves in the Hong Kong business landscape so far. In this edition of Women Entrepreneur magazine we bring to you a few such names.In this issue meet Veena Dansinghani, Founder, NAVEDA Integral Wellness Centre. She began her professional journey in the travel industry of Hong Kong and came to a realization that she wanted to do something more meaningful that would give her freedom of time to enjoy travelling and experience joy & happiness. "During my journey, I personally experienced a health condition called Alopecia Areata - a severe hair loss condition in 2014. I was able to hold a very positive and solution-oriented attitude to heal myself naturally. I continued my training & education in India and very quickly started my practice in Hong Kong and became a leader in promoting natural solutions from India", says Veena Next up is Tanya Uppal, Director of Arcadis. She has proven that a leader is not defined by age. Tanya started her career with EY and before Arcadis she was with KPMG as a senior. From the very beginning, she has been associated with leading MNCs and has wide experience in working with senior leaders & clients. "I have around a decade of management consulting experience across multiple asset classes and solutions. My core expertise includes digital strategy & smart city solutions, sustainability advisory, strategy development, account management, and overseeing the delivery of strategic transformation projects", says Tanya. Read on to get to know these women leaders and their journey up close and personal.Do let us know your thoughts. Rachita SharmaManaging Editor
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