BCCTaipei WiB | Break the Bias in Taiwan Workplace
TAIPEI, TAIWAN [24-March 2022] In commemoration of international women’s day, the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (BCCTaipei) hosted a Women in Business Luncheon titled “Break the Bias – Close the Equality Gap” at the Taipei Marriott Hotel. Lunch provided by the Marriott was followed by a series of speeches addressing obstacles and stereotypes frequently faced by women in the workplace, emphasising the importance of implementing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) strategies. Talks were followed by a panel discussion with three distinguished business leaders.
The quote by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, cited by Jennifer Kang, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made”, prefaced and exemplified the tone of the discussions led by our guest speakers.
Jennifer, Head Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing of Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan, who first took to the floor, explored the initiatives taken by Standard Chartered Taiwan to promote women’s empowerment in the workplace. The branch currently boasts a management team that comprises 64% of women, a senior leadership team that comprises 57% of women and an average female salary that is 100.06% of the average male salary, making Standard Chartered Taiwan the most gender-equal branch of the bank. Flexible working, leave benefits and digital employee assistance programs (EAP) were also highlighted as initiatives to account for the unpaid work many women have to undertake, especially that pertaining to the care of children. Jennifer encouraged attendees to look beyond diversity issues in one’s own company and assess suppliers for their DEI practices as well, citing a responsibility to ensure that the values of suppliers are in line with one’s own. Jennifer concluded that through utilising the BCCTaipei network and personal networks to share healthy business practices will help ensure that organisations, suppliers, and stakeholders all take responsibility for ensuring the promotion of women’s equality in Taiwan.
“As women, let’s appreciate who we are” – Kathy Chen, General Manager of Clarins Taiwan
Our second speaker, Kathy Chen, then explored the challenges faced by women working in typically male-dominated work scenarios. A familiar phenomenon, shared by many women in positions of authority or management, is the need to “code-switch”, meaning to change one’s linguistic expression or behaviour in order to feel respected and listened to in work environments. Kathy referenced feeling obligated to wear neutral colours of black and white to match the dress code of her male counterparts or adapting her attitude in board meetings, coming across as “frozen” or “tough”, even exhibiting a “Devil wears Prada”-esque persona, to command the respect of male colleagues. After a period of reflection, Kathy came to question why this persona, antithetical to the persona recognised by family and friends, had come to dominate her work. She went on to conclude how learning to appreciate oneself, to embrace one’s caring and more nurturing side, can make one a better manager, a better team player but most importantly promotes a healthier work environment for women.
“DEI is not just a slogan” – Cecilia Tang, COO of Womany Network Co., Ltd
Cecilia Tang concluded the event’s speeches by highlighting statistics collected by her organisation, Womany. Conclusions drawn from Womany’s 2022 Taiwan DEI survey highlighted how many women do not consider DEI when applying for roles. Cecilia thus emphasised how we, as employees and job searchers, can and should hold employers accountable for their DEI policies, as a strategy to encourage implementation of women’s empowerment initiatives. Further, only 17.3% of respondents to the aforementioned survey said that their work unit carries out DEI-related initiatives, highlighting a lack of accountability on the behalf of employees in either the recruitment processes or internal operations. Cecilia noted that Womany’s conferences, awards, training programs and brand contracts aim to foster a work culture that is willing to address the challenges faced by working women and encourage women to challenge biases within themselves and those encountered in the workplace.
BCCTaipei would like to thank our event sponsor, Standard Chartered Taiwan, and guest speakers for their continued support and sponsorship of the Women in Business programme, helping to provide a platform for women to connect and collaborate towards fulfilling the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, Gender Equality.
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- Learn more about BCCTaipei Women in Business Committee HERE