What is your current role, and your connection with WiFA?
I am passionate about the Inclusion and Diversity agenda – be it at work, in the broader community or in my personal life. At KPMG in China we have been involved in various Inclusion and Diversity initiatives throughout the years, and won many awards. But our efforts were very fragmented, so in 2018 we decided to bring it all together and give it a proper structure. I am one of the members of this refreshed Inclusion and Diversity panel, and in particular I am focusing on the “gender pillar”.
Our key objective is to create an environment in which each person can achieve their full potential at work, and therefore our first efforts were to refine our policies to allow and support a more agile way of work for everyone. It wasn’t easy, because for some this is quite a foreign concept, but we got there in the end and had opportunities to collect and start addressing issues when we moved into our new premises at South Island Place. This preparatory work also stood us in good stead over the last few weeks with people having to work from home.
I can’t remember exactly when we started to support WiFA, but definitely we were already very much involved when I arrived in Hong Kong in 2014. Last year, consistent with our “mission” to refine and focus, we promoted WiFA programmes and events much more proactively, with very good feedback from our staff. They enjoy the variedness of the topics and networking opportunities with other participants that are from quite diverse backgrounds, although we are all linked together through our shared involvement in the financial sector.
Tell us one thing that is important for #CreatingTheWorkforceOfTheFuture
I believe it is vitally important for everyone to cultivate a mindset of continuous development. We all need to be open to do different things and to do things differently.
What advice would you give to women who want to lead?
You need to first figure out for yourself what “leading” means to you. Be honest about your abilities, passions and what you are prepared to invest in order to get into that position of “leadership”.