Women Aces in Leadership event offers empowering words from female athletes and executives
The panel event, held during the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, presented discussions and personal stories about mentorship and inclusion
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Prudential’s Lilian Ng joins Naomi Osaka at Women Aces in Leadership event
As the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open started getting into full swing in late October, there was plenty of action to be found off the court as well, aimed at celebrating the achievements of women. The tournament, which is part of the Women’s Tennis Association 250 Series, provided the ideal backdrop for a leadership event that put a spotlight on the challenges women face in advancing their careers in sports and business.
The event, Women Aces in Leadership, was organised by Prudential, which is also the title sponsor of the tennis tournament that the company has been supporting since 2014, as part of its efforts to spotlight the importance of resilience for younger generations and also drive diversity, equality and inclusion in the sports and business arenas.
Its panel discussions featured big names from the tennis circuit, including four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, as well as female executives with global roles in the finance and non-governmental sectors. Together, they discussed ways to help talented young women become leaders, sharing their insights and exchanging ideas.
In her opening speech, Angel Ng, regional CEO for Greater China, customer and wealth, at Prudential Group, said that given the social, economic and cultural issues in society, the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion has become increasingly important. She also emphasised that the challenges women face today require greater resilience.
Two panels were presented before an audience of more than 120 invited guests. In the first, titled “Rising Stars: Mentorship and Mental Resilience for Tomorrow’s Leaders”, the speakers highlighted the unique challenges that often affect women.
Lilian Ng, managing director of the Strategic Business Group at Prudential Group, pointed out that in traditionally male-dominated fields such as finance and sports, female leaders can fall into the trap of “Wonder Woman syndrome”, where they juggle the pursuit of success both at work and in their personal lives.
“This is a pressure that a lot of women put on themselves,” Lilian Ng said. “But the Wonder Woman costume is very tight – you need to build your own costume.”
Echoing this sentiment, Osaka shared how mental resilience is something that she has been fortunate enough to get training in as an athlete. However, she added: “At the same time, that led to me seeing resilience as a little unhealthy, because you’re always told that showing emotions or any type of feeling is weak. I circle back to this all the time, but being a mum now, I’m very resilient.”
Mary Huen, CEO of Hong Kong, Greater China and north Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, said the best kind of mentorship creates an environment in which mentees are able to find their own answers by sharing their ideas, concerns or struggles without judgment.
She noted: “These days, I have a habit of asking ChatGPT. But one thing it cannot tell you, which a human being can, is: the mentor doesn’t tell you the answer, they help you find the answer.”
The second panel discussion, titled “Smashing It! Advancing DE&I on the Court and in the Workplace”, explored the similarities between diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in sports and business, and discussed how organisations and individuals can create more inclusive environments that empower women to excel in their fields.
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Female athletes and executives join Angel Ng of Prudential at Women Aces in Leadership
The panellists pointed out that studies have found women are interrupted more often than men in board meetings, which suggests an unconscious bias around authority and visibility.
Prudential Group’s Angel Ng said: “As leaders in an organisation, we need to be more observant and call out when seeing things that are not right.” She also shared her own experience with good leadership, recalling how a male boss helped her find her voice in a board meeting among male contemporaries.
The panellists emphasised how organisations can take action to foster a more inclusive environment, by establishing initiatives that see male leaders become allies of women. That can serve as a powerful force to challenge stereotypes, leading to impactful change in a company’s culture.
Angel Ng concluded the event by highlighting the importance of fair play in the drive for DE&I, suggesting that transparency in the workplace is necessary for it to succeed. “It doesn’t matter whether you are male or female, young or old, experienced or not. You need to have a very clear judgment of the rules of the game,” she said.
Check out the videos to hear key insights from the tennis figures and Hong Kong executives featured in the two panel discussions of the Women Aces in Leadership event.