Beijing, March 30, 2018 – Building on the success of the first Women Economy Summit in 2017, AmCham China and SCHS Asia has brought together again a diverse community to discuss innovative practices in the workplace that empower women’s leadership and create economic value. This year’s conference also witnessed the release of the first edition of Women’s Leadership in the Workplace: Insights and Best Practices, guiding the community to further develop programs and discussions regarding professional women’s position within organizations across China and globally.
“Every year, AmCham China hosts over 150 programs of different scales. All of those efforts, however, are very externally focused, highlighting our contributions to make a better business world. Very few are about developing us to become better selves,” said Alan Beebe, President of AmCham China. “This is why this year’s summit is a particularly great gathering, focusing on the innovative corporate best practices to empower women as well as folks like me, your male champions.” Mr. Beebe then congratulated on the release of the first women economy whitepaper and extended his appreciation to the speakers and partners.
Several member companies were interviewed to benchmark women’s roles in the workplace and their broader impact on the global economy. The research is collected in the white paper, Women’s Leadership in the Workplace: Insights and Best Practices, discovering that women face significant challenges at work, especially when it comes to obtaining positions of leadership. The white paper was also able to identify 10 best practices that the organizations applied to create a positive work experience and increase employee engagement in terms of gender parity.
“We hope you will take these findings and consider how they can be applied to your organization to create stronger and resilient business,” said Su Cheng Harris-Simpson, Governor of AmCham China and Founder & CEO of SCHS Asia. “Personal leaderships are important, but organizational efforts are what is really rewarding and influential. We believe that with the right set of tools and policies in place, together we can move closer to achieving gender parity in our economy.”
At the summit, the all-star lineup of speakers both from China and overseas shared their experiences and opinions on the theme of Women Drive Economic Growth. They were:
- Helen Ye, Vice Chair, AmCham China / Vice President, Global China Practice, Ogilvy & Mather
- Christine Branstad, Wife of U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad
- Julie Broussard, Country Programme Manager, UN Women China office
- Hong Mu, Director-General, Liaison Department of the All-China Women’s Federation
- Cindy Termorshuizen, Chargé d’affaires, a.i., Embassy of Canada in Beijing, PRC
- Chenhong Huang, Governor, Board of Governors of AmCham China / President, Greater China, Dell Technologies
- Colm Rafferty, Governor, Board of Governors of AmCham China / Vice President, Asia Pacific Region, Vermeer Corporation / Chairman, Vermeer China
- Sophie Guerin, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ), Dell Inc.
- Rebecca Fender, CFA, Head, “Future of Finance”, CFA Institute
- Hongyu Li, Senior Vice President, AECOM
- Ye Li, Vice President and Head of Corporate A airs and Government Relations, Merck Holding (China) Ltd.
- Roberta Lipson, CEO and Founder, United Family Healthcare
- Elizabeth Vazquez, President, CEO, and Co-Founder of WEConnect International
- Daisy Shen, Partner & COO of Global China Practice, KPMG
- Nely Galán, Emmy Award-winning producer / Author of NY Times Best Selling Book / Motivational Speaker
- Janet Yang, Hollywood Producer, named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood”
- Steven Chapman，Group Vice President, China and Russia, Cummins Inc.
- Sean Lim, Head of Sales, naked Hub
- Brian Tippens, Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Lin Gao, Executive Coach / Trainer / Writer / CEO of Message Coach
- Sonia Zivkovic, Educator / Co-Founder and Director of Pana Wakke Productions
- Na Li, CFA, Director, National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSS)
- Yimei Li, CFA, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Fund Sales, ChinaAMC
- Iris Wu, CFA, Director, Institutional Partnerships, China, CFA Institute
- Cindy Jensen, PCC ICF Credentialed Coach / Managing Director, BOLDMOVES CHINA
AmCham China would like to sincerely thank our sponsors: CFA Institute, Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NBA China, Abbott, APCO, Cummins, KPMG, Merck, United Family Healthcare, American Airlines, naked Hub, Ogilvy & Mather, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, JW Marriott Beijing, Yew Chung International School of Beijing. We thank our promotional partners: Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, British Chamber of Commerce in China and China-Britain Business Council, Finnish Business Council Beijing, Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China, Message Coach, VIVA Beijing Professional Women’s Network. We also thank our venue and reception sponsors Marriott Beijing Northeast and Cheers. Last, but not least, we thank the Embassies of the United States and Canada in China, UN Women and the All-China Women’s Federation for their continuous leadership and support.
About AmCham China
The American Chamber of Commerce in the People's Republic of China is a non-profit, non-governmental organization whose membership comprises more than 3,300 individuals from 900 companies operating across China. The chamber's nationwide mission is to help American companies succeed in China through advocacy, information, networking and business support services. AmCham China is the only officially recognized chamber of commerce representing American business in mainland China. With offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Shenyang and Wuhan, AmCham China has more than 50 working groups, and holds more than 250 events each year. Visit our website for more information.
For more information, please contact:
Yona Yang