Britain in Hong Kong March-April 2022 (HSBC)

Empowering female leaders and founders towards an equitable future

Female representation in leadership and entrepreneurship has gained important ground in recent years, but much more can be done.

Women entrepreneurs in Hong Kong have a wide range of motivations for starting their businesses, flexibility in their working arrangements and bringing positive change in society being key factors. But they also face specific challenges such as developing an online presence, family resistance and raising money. In particular, HSBC found that 68% of female founders in Hong Kong have been denied funding during the investment pitching process, 18% higher than the global average. Moreover, 58% have expressed concerns about bias when raising capital. This underlines the need to establish networks of empowerment as well as promote greater allyship between women and men in the push for gender equality.

Identifying the challenges

Whether it be entrenched gender bias or a lack of professional mentors, the playing field for women and men is yet to be levelled. A necessary first step is to understand these barriers so that the right remedies can be pursued.

An important example is access to financing for new business ventures. An earlier survey found that over 50% of male entrepreneurs pitch to a majority or all-male panel of investors, while only 8% of female founders have the opportunity to present to all or mostly female ones. Gender bias was also discovered to be responsible for women securing, on average, 5% less capital than their male counterparts.

Another area in need of attention is female representation on boards in Hong Kong, which as of 2021 was only 14.3%. Towards this end, HSBC has been connected to the 30% Club Hong Kong, whose mission is to increase the percentage of women on the boards of Hang Seng-listed companies to 30%.

Greater diversity in the boardroom is increasingly seen as good for performance, role modelling and innovation, among other benefits. But new approaches to increasing representation are needed, such as transparent gender monitoring and establishing sustainable strategies that support female progression.

Similarly, there are challenges in raising representation across senior leadership roles. Which is why HSBC has committed to achieving 35% women in such positions by 2025 - as of 2021, we had reached 31.7%. This progress is being channelled through initiatives such as Accelerating Female Leaders and our Explore leadership course.

Building communities of support

A critical starting point for female empowerment is community building, and creating an environment of access to mentors, resources and networking opportunities. These can act as important educational contexts where there are opportunities to challenge established norms, question existing thinking about the status quo and imagine new futures.

For my part, in 2011 I helped launch the Women’s Network, a Hong Kong-based initiative designed to channel voices from within HSBC on issues related to diversity and inclusion, attracting and retaining female talent and promoting mental and physical wellbeing among female employees.

The Network has focused on raising awareness through local female-focused speaker events and workshops as well as building solidarity through volunteering activities in the community. Our motto for the coming year is #breakthebias, and we will continue progressing us towards gender equality, be it in corporate or entrepreneurial settings.

Building community is also central to supporting female founders. For example, last year HSBC has partnered with AllBright – an empowerment community for women with courses and events tailored to help them succeed in their careers - in launching HSBC Roar, a programme aiming to support female entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses. HSBC Roar’s core objectives include providing access to networks of like-minded women, overcoming bias in the business pitching process and disseminating investment knowledge among female founders.

Beyond fundraising, having networks of support can also help women who experience difficulties in running their businesses. HSBC research revealed that women entrepreneurs find ‘building a network’ and ‘finding potential mentors’ to be comparatively harder than their male counterparts. These findings underscore the value of programmes such as HSBC Roar.

Looking to the future, together

The work of empowerment is an undertaking with long-term benefits, for women as well as the organisations they work for and contribute to. Overcoming gender bias and ushering in an era of greater equality is a collective effort that requires creative thinking about the future. Whether in leadership or entrepreneurship, increasing female representation promises returns across the board – because a future that champions equal rights between genders and values diverse ideas is a future full of bright opportunities.

Christina Ong Head of Business Banking Commercial Banking, Hong Kong HSBC

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding member of the HSBC Group. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of USD$3.0tn at 31 December 2021, HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world.