Tina Chan and Jason Li. Photo: Handout
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3117125/workplace-exclusion-language-barriers-how-hongkonger-yusuf Society
Workplace exclusion, language barriers: how Hongkonger Yusuf Mohideen is tearing down the obstacles faced by his Indian parents
- Mohideen saw his parents suffering from racial exclusion as he grew up in Hong Kong
- He is now signed up to a Zubin Foundation project supported by Swire Pacific and aimed at opening up new opportunities for ethnic minority students and graduates
Ethnic minority groups can encounter issues such as workplace exclusion in Hong Kong. Photo: AFP
Growing up in Hong Kong, Yusuf Mohideen witnessed his parents struggle with a lack of racial inclusion in the workforce and language barriers, just some of the obstacles facing members of ethnic minorities in the city.
“A lot of us think that, because of our race, we are restricted to certain types of jobs, and I thought that as well,” said the second-year university student, whose family is from India.
“Until I met people and they gave me advice. I realised talking to people, connecting with people allows me to get new ideas and new insights.”
Mohideen is one of several young people taking part in “Employability Capacity Building for Ethnic Minorities”, a programme organised by the Zubin Foundation and supported by Swire Pacific. The foundation is a charity focusing on ethnic minority groups.
Under the scheme, Swire Pacific management trainees connect with ethnic minority students and fresh graduates in one-on-one online workshops to enhance their employability and soft skills for the workplace.
“Programmes like these make us very proud, because it provides opportunities for us to foster stronger connection, understanding and support between our youths from different backgrounds, and there is nothing more powerful than peer-to-peer empowerment,” said Tina Chan Teing-teing, group head of philanthropy at John Swire & Sons (HK) Ltd.
Jason Li Ka-chun, a Swire management trainee who participated in this programme, said: “It is definitely about empowerment, and it goes both ways.”
“My interactions with Yusuf also made me pause and reflect. As a young professional, I was in the exact same position not long ago. I felt the same anxiety, the stress of finding a job, and questions on what to expect from a workplace.”
As well as the programme, Swire Pacific works with a number of non-profit organisations through its charitable branch, the Swire Group Charitable Trust.
For over two decades, Swire Pacific has sponsored Operation Santa Claus (OSC), an annual Christmas-themed fundraising drive co-organised by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK. This year, 19 charities have been named beneficiaries of OSC, including the Zubin Foundation.
“Operation Santa Claus is a great medium for us to reach more lesser-known charities,” Chan said.
“[Swire and OSC] have very similar visions and missions to bring our community positive through supporting charitable projects.”
The company has also piled their efforts into Covid-19-specific projects. Since early 2020, Swire Trust has provided two rounds of funding to local charities, amounting to a total of HK$29.3 million (US$3.78 million) for more than 480 organisations.