After nearly a decade, Hang Seng Bank is still Hong Kong’s sole blue-chip company with a woman CEO
Hong Kong lags behind when it comes to embracing gender diversity in top leadership roles at major companies
Hong Kong continues to maintain a gender bias in hiring for senior executive roles, as only about 10 per cent of director positions are occupied by females, while the CEO role is pretty much a men-only club.
Meanwhile, other leading economies have made major progress in dismantling the glass ceiling on career advancement for women. In the US women make up about 17 per cent of director positions, while in Europe the figure is about 40 per cent.
In some instances, quotas have been in place to help ensure gender parity, with Norway and France notable examples.
However, in the UK, where no quotas exist, women occupy about 26 per cent of directorship roles in listed companies.
This shows cultural mindsets play an important role in lowering the gender barriers, as do compliance requirements.
Still, when it comes to Hong Kong, gender bias has led to a remarkable distortion among the top corporate positions. Louisa Cheang Wai-man, of Hang Seng Bank, ranks as the only female CEO among the city’s 50 blue-chip companies.