Chamber's Spotlight - Women's Leadership Network

Supported by the Italian Chamber of Commerce, the Women’s Leadership Network Committee (WLN) is a network of women professionals based in Hong Kong. WLN Members regularly get together for networking events, business seminars on career advancement and informal gatherings. The WLN is an instrument for Hong Kong professional women who seek to expand their professional network, learn about Hong Kong companies’ best practices, exchange personal experiences and build strong relationships. The WLN also collaborates with other Hong Kong and Macao women networks, associations and NGOs to promote a more diverse, inclusive and therefore competitive environment in the local corporate scene.

Women’s Voice 2022

The Women’s Leadership Network (WLN) was conceived on the very idea to inspire, empower and innovate. As the pandemic moves slowly behind us, we need to think about how to re-focus on the future norm at the workplace and at home. Our first in person event of “Women’s Voice 2022” engages 5 different panelists at different career point to share their experiences and their “voices” throughout their careers, how it empowered them to do more and give back in their own approaches, as we are ten years in the fourth-wave of feminism movement. Globalization and technology have lifted many countries and economies out of poverty, however; it has also created social stratification within traditionally marginalized groups, a lot of women’s voices got muted as a result. How do we at WLN address some of these issues and to create more opportunities to get women’s voices heard in the future? In Hong Kong, we have seen many women influencers and leaders lobby corporations and government agencies to promote equal pay and expand maternity leave coverage in corporations and businesses. As of 2016, the ratio of women and men in the workforce in Hong Kong were virtually tied (49% women, 51% men) due to the higher education level of both genders and a mix of both traditional and western cultures. At WLN, we have continued to support the Italian Young Professionals (IYP) by creating one-on-one mentorship in the last 2 years. During the pandemic, sustaining mentorship has suffered certain setbacks due to people moving on with their jobs to another city or country. How do we continue this journey in a more sustainable fashion to boost women’s confidence, break down more barriers and make a long lasting impact?

Mrs. Gloria Shum-Friedenberg

Chair of the Women’s Leadership Network

WLN Launch 2013

Women’s voice has grown from demanding simple rights to vote in the early 1900’s to women empowerment nowadays through gender lens investing in sectors that could mobilize more capital to women’s education, childcare, healthcare and so on. In the long run these elements could also be integrated with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ESG to create real sustainable social structure and impact for women.

In the first event of 2022 for WLN, we will be focusing on the past experiences of all of our speakers and sharing their different thoughts to our audience, with a post pandemic recovery theme. We each have overcome stumbling blocks in our lives and careers learning something very unique from it. We’d like to bring all that to our audience into the discussion in order to share, inspire and empower the next generations of members to the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong & Macao.

Looking ahead, there is no doubt that the women’s movement will keep on growing stronger and louder for the years to come, because at the end of the day, we are the OTHER HALF.

WLN 2015

WLN (WomenInMedia) 2017