On April 29th, China General Chamber of Commerce–USA (CGCC) hosted Lunch & Learn Event “Women in Business” at the Harvard Club in New York City. More than 20 female leaders from CGCC member companies including China Merchant’s Bank, CICC US Securities, Fosun International, Minmetals, China Life, Hongdou, China Investment Corp., EY, CBRE, HSBC, Citi, and JP Morgan attended the meeting.
During the discussion, Elaine La Roche, CEO of CICC US Securities, shared her experience in the workplace. She emphasized that one’s professional career is a working process; it is a career that one build on and invest in; one has to prove one’s accountability. She also mentioned the importance of honesty and that it is difficult to rebuild one’s reputation once it is damaged.
Kate Barton, EY Global Vice Chair, Tax, shared the statistic of female representation in a professional environment from the World Economic Forum in which indicates gender equality will not be eliminated until 2095. She also pointed out that companies with no less than 30% of women on their board show a 6% higher profit margin comparing to the ones that don’t have women on their board. She suggested that it is critical to recognize the mentors and sponsors in one’s career.
Darcy Stacom, Vice Chairman of CBRE, shared her perspective on how one should express their thoughts and learn from the feedback of others. Candice Niu, Executive Director of CGCC, expressed that support from fellow women is powerful, especially under the backdrop of the existing stereotype in society that women don’t support other women because it makes one look weak. She emphasized the need to reverse the stereotype. Shau Zhang, Americas COIN Market Leader of Chinese Overseas Investment at EY; Mu Zhang, Assistant General Manager of China Merchant’s Bank New York Branch and Yuan Tang, Executive Director of Related Companies, also shared their insights and experiences on gender inequality in the workplace.
In addition to discussing gender inequality in the workplace, female leaders also shared their thoughts on the positive and negative effects of the #MeToo movement and how to overcome struggles of expressing oneself in a professional environment.
At the end of the discussion, Katia Bouazza, Managing Director and Head of Global Banking for Latin America at HSBC, stated that women have come a long way from the past and have broken many glass ceilings. She emphasized that equality for women in the workplace is an ongoing process, and women need to lead the changes within the workplace.
Gender equality in the workplace is an ongoing discussion and much more work needs to be done for the elimination of the gender gap. CGCC sincerely thanks all participants for supporting this event. CGCC will continue to support and organize events that generate conversations and celebrate the achievements of female leaders.
The CGCC Lunch & Learn Series aims to provide a platform for leaders from CGCC member companies and partners to share their industry insights with CGCC member companies and team members. CGCC welcomes all passionate leaders from our member and partner organizations to join this program.
Click here to view photos from the event
About CGCC:
Founded in 2005, the China General Chamber of Commerce – USA (“CGCC”) has been recognized as the largest and most influential non-profit organization representing Chinese enterprises in the U.S. Its membership consists of more than 1,500 Chinese and U.S. companies, 54 of which are ranked on the 2018 Fortune Global 500. CGCC’s mission is to create value, generate economic growth, and enhance cooperation between the U.S. and Chinese business communities. CGCC conducts extensive research and provides a broad range of programs, services, and resources to its members and key stakeholders in an effort to foster the mutual understanding, trust, and engagement between China and the U.S. As of 2018, CGCC’s Chinese member companies have cumulatively invested over $120 billion, employ more than 200,000 people, and support over one million jobs throughout the United States.
CGCC is a national organization and includes CGCC-New York (CGCCUSA-HQ), CGCC-Chicago, CGCC-Houston, CGCC-Los Angeles, CGCC-San Francisco and CGCC-Washington D.C.