MDS 2018 Asia Gender Research

ADVANCING FEMALE LEADERS IN ASIA

Authors: Elisa Mallis and Robin BallEditors: Christine Yeo and Jonathan Wong

Researcher: Maria Brown, Ph.D. Head of Research, MRG®

“Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half.” Plato, Greek Philosopher

Plato makes a simple observation and a logical conclusion. As women make up half the population, society is running at half its capacity if the resources of women are not fully engaged. As Plato wrote nearly 2,400 years ago it has to be concluded, sadly, that societies across the world are making slow progress towards gender equality!

This Asia Gender Research report involves collaboration between MRG® and MDS® to conduct a comprehensive study of female and male leadership professionals in Asia. It presents the differences (and notes the areas where no differences were found) using a scientific model of leadership, the LEA™. It further compares this data for Asia with similar gender research data for Western countries. Finally it compares the profiles of Asian leaders, both female and male with a profile of leadership which is predicted to be successful in the digital age.

The research was supplemented by in-depth interviews with several companies who provided valuable insights from their own women in leadership initiatives. MDS is very grateful to HP for sharing their success story “HP — Driving Diversity with Intentional People Strategies and Best Practices”.

The recommendations at the end of the report encourage women to identify and celebrate the strengths they bring to leadership. They also suggest how women can accelerate their advancement — by observing the different characteristics of female and male leaders. They further suggest to company owners and board members around the world that the productivity of their companies would benefit tremendously if there were a balance of female and male leaders — especially at the more senior levels.

The report is set out in 3 sections:1. The Case for Gender Equality2. The Research Data — Female and Male Leaders in Asia3. Recommendations for Advancing Female Leaders in Asia

Authors: Elisa Mallis and Robin BallEditors: Christine Yeo and Jonathan Wong

Researcher: Maria Brown, Ph.D. Head of Research, MRG®

1

Assessing the Gender GapMost people would expect that the gender gap has narrowed over the last decade. However, the reality according to the Global Gender Gap Report (GGGR*) by the World Economic Forum (WEF) is quite different. While there have been areas of significant progress in closing the gender gap there are, at the same time, certain key areas where the gap is in fact widening. The four subindexes included in the overall Global Gender Gap Index are Economic Participation and Opportunity (Economic), Educational Attainment (Educational), Health and Survival (Health) and Political Empowerment (Political). The projected time (in years) required to close the overall global gender gap has increased from 83 years (the 2016 report) to 108 years (the 2018 report). More specifically, the Economic gap remains very large i.e. globally, only 58% of this gap has been closed and it is estimated it will take 202 more years to close this Economic gender gap.

Why Does Gender Parity Matter?Years of accumulated research has established that improving gender parity results in significant economic and societal benefits. In their April 2018 report the McKinsey Global Institute** suggests that China could see a US$2.5 trillion GDP increase from gender parity and Asia Pacific as a region could boost their collective GDP by US$4.5 trillion by 2025, a 12% increase.

Further, evidence from McKinsey’s latest global research on diversity*** uncovers that companies in the top-quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 21% more likely to outperform on profitability and 27% more likely to have superior value creation. This was a significant increase from earlier years.

In the workplace (public and private sectors), women still struggle to take on managerial roles or senior official roles. Overall, about 34% of global managers are women, with an extremely uneven balance across countries. In addition to the low representation of females in leadership roles, the global gender income gap is also widening.

From this data it is clear that narrowing the gender gap would essentially unleash vast economic potential for continuous and sustainable growth. So the rationale for more women in leadership is clear. Why then, has the progress been so slow? The proportion of females in senior roles increased by only 2% on average across 12 industries studied by the WEF.

1The Case for

Gender Equality

Health and Survival subindex

Educational Attainment subindex

Global Gender Gap Index

Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex

Political Empowerment subindex

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.02006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

Table 1: Global Gender Gap Index and subindexes evolution, 2006-2018

Scor

e (0

.01

- 1.0

scal

e)

2

Progress in the Asia Pacific RegionOverall the Asia Pacific region is middle ranking. It is below Western Europe, North America, Eastern Europe with Central Asia, and Latin America with the Caribbean, but above Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Middle East with North Africa. However there is no single Asia Pacific story. Countries in the region vary tremendously in their overall positions on gender parity. New Zealand (ranked 7) and the Philippines (ranked 8) are far ahead of the rest of Asia Pacific (see table 2). And although the rankings in Asia Pacific have fallen (as other regions have moved ahead) 14 of the 18 countries in the region improved their actual scores in 2018.

Likewise there is a wide variety of scoring on the subindexes of the gender gap index (see table 3). The Philippines is still at the forefront of gender parity in Economic, while Singapore with its strategic focus on improving wage equality and female representation at senior levels has experienced encouraging results over the past 12 years.

Also within each subindex there is a range of performance in different categories. For example in Economic, although China has been successful in closing the gap in professional and technical roles, it is still struggling on wage equality for similar work and gender parity in senior leadership roles (public and private sectors).

The evidence indicates that as Asia Pacific matures, anchor countries especially China need to put greater emphasis on:

▪ Placing more female employees in higher productivity sectors ▪ Addressing the widening pay gaps in specific countries ▪ Having more women in leadership in both the private and public sectors

* The Global Gender Gap Report 2018, The World Economic Forum.** The Power of Parity: Advancing Women’s Equality in Asia Pacific. The McKinsey Global Institute. April 2018.*** Delivering Through Diversity. January 2018. McKinsey and Company.

Table 2: Rankings by region, 2018

EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Country Overall Rank Overall Score

New Zealand 7 0.801

Philippines 8 0.799

Lao PDR 26 0.748

Australia 39 0.730

Mongolia 58 0.714

Singapore 67 0.707

Thailand 73 0.702

Viet Nam 77 0.698

Indonesia 85 0.691

Myanmar 88 0.690

Brunei Darussalam 90 0.686

Cambodia 93 0.683

Malaysia 101 0.676

China 103 0.673

Fiji 106 0.669

Japan 110 0.662

Korea, Rep. 115 0.657

Timor-leste 124 0.638

Table 3: Imparity Ranking 2018

China Philippines Singapore Japan

Economic Participation and Opportunity 86 14 24 117

Educational Attainment 111 1 88 65

Health and Survival 149 42 130 41

Political Empowerment 78 13 103 125

3

About MRG®

The research data was presented by Management Research Group® (MRG®), www.mrg.com a global leader in designing assessments that foster a deep self-awareness and impact people in profound and meaningful ways. The MRG suite of scientifically designed instruments, backed by more than three decades of research, includes solutions for Leadership and Personal Development, Sales and Service.

MRG conducts extensive research into effective leadership behaviour, leveraging a database of more than 1.2 million assessment participants.

MRG completed a comprehensive study of female and male leadership professionals across Asia which involved a sample of 590 leaders from a wide range of industries from 17 Asian countries. Each pair of female and male leaders was equally matched by management level and job function. This “apples to apples” comparison allows for a valid comparison of the unique characteristics and leadership practices of female and male leaders, as biases related to age (corelated to management level) and job function are minimised.

About the LEA™All leaders in the study were evaluated on their leadership practices using the Leadership Effectiveness Analysis (LEA 360™). This measures 22 leadership behaviours grouped into six core functions, creating a uniquely insightful profile that provides a nuanced and scientifically sophisticated development tool. By embracing individual leadership styles and placing them within the context of a company’s organisational environment, the LEA 360™ offers insights that are accurate, encouraging, and actionable, stimulating individual and team growth.

In addition to self scores, scores from observers i.e. bosses, peers and direct reports, were also included in the dataset. Observers were also asked to rate leaders on separate leadership effectiveness items, which provide insights into performance and potential.

2Research Data — Female and Male

Leaders in Asia

Developing Followers

PersuasiveOutgoingExcitementRestraint

Implementingthe Vision

StructuringTacticalCommunicationDelegation

Team Playing

CooperationConsensualAuthorityEmpathy

Creating a Vision

TraditionalInnovativeTechnicalSelfStrategic

Following Through

ControlFeedback

Achieving Results

Management FocusDominantProduction

LEA 22 Practices

4

The data collected between the years 2014 - 2018 includes leaders from entry level to CEO, with over a third of the sample being Department or Unit Managers (see Diagram 1).

The data below presents gender differences firstly comparing the 22 practices of the LEA™ model (see Diagram 2), and secondly by comparing leadership effectiveness (see Diagram 3). Leadership practices may be referred to simply as leadership behaviours, and leadership effectiveness measures may be referred to as competencies or capabilities.

Diagram 1: Sample composition of the Asia Leadership Research

Comparing Leadership Practices

Diagram 2: Differences of Observer Input on Leadership Differences between Males and Females

Strategic -Delegation -Innovative -Traditional -

Restraint -Feedback -

Control -Excitement -

Empathy -Tactical -

Production - Dominant -

Structuring -Persuasive -

Cooperation -Technical -

Consensual -Management Focus -

Outgoing -Authority -

Self -Communication -

Odds a member of one group scoreshigher than a member of the other group

Effect Sizes - Leadership Practices

1.0 1.2 1.4

Male higher

Female higher

No difference (p > 0.05)

Designation / Level Count %

Department/Unit Manager 203 34.41

VP/Divisional or Functional Head 108 18.31

Professional/Technical 99 16.78

Senior VP/General Manager/Director 94 15.93

Supervisor/Foreman 63 10.68

Other (Non-management) 13 2.20

President/CEO 10 1.69

Total 590 100.00

India, 4%

Malaysia, 5%

Japan, 6%

Singapore, 8%

Hong Kong (China), 39%

Mainland China, 28%

Others, 10%

Nationality

5

Female and male leaders in Asia appear to share similarities in other strengths, as the research found no differences in the following leadership practices:

▪ Persuasive: Building commitment by convincing others.

▪ Communication: Clearly expressing thoughts, ideas, expectations and maintaining a precise and constant flow of information.

▪ Cooperation: Accommodating the needs of others in the interests of collaborating with them to achieve company objectives.

FEMALES: Stronger in

Feedback Control

Excitement Empathy Tactical

Production

MALES: Stronger in

Strategic Innovative Delegation Traditional Restraint

Compared with their female counterparts male leaders in Asia demonstrate more “Creating a Vision” (Strategic and Innovative) leadership behaviours. Asian male leaders take a more long-range, broad approach to problem solving and decision making, coupled with objective analysis, thinking ahead and planning. They are also perceived to be relatively more comfortable in fast changing environments and are more willing to take risks and to consider new and untested approaches compared to their female counterparts.

Other leadership practices that observers see men demonstrating more of include:

• Delegation: Enlisting the talents of others and meeting objectives by assigning important tasks and allowing sufficient autonomy for others to exercise their own judgment.

• Traditional: Studying problems in light of past practices to ensure predictability, reinforce status quo and minimise risks.

• Restraint: Maintaining a low-key, understated and quiet interpersonal demeanour by working to control emotional expression.

Female leaders in Asia Male leaders in Asia

Compared with their male counterparts female leaders in Asia are found to demonstrate more “Following Through” (Control and Feedback) leadership behaviours. Asian female leaders provide direct input on performance and diligently monitor progress to ensure timely completion. They also let others know in a straightforward manner how they have performed and how well they have met expectations.

Other leadership practices that observers see women demonstrating more of include:

• Excitement: Operating with good deal of energy, intensity and emotional expression and having the capacity for keeping others enthusiastic and involved.

• Empathy: Active concern for people and their needs by forming close and supportive relationships.

• Tactical: Emphasising immediate results by focusing on short-range, hands-on and practical strategies.

• Production: Adopting an elevated orientation towards achievement, holding high expectations and pushing for higher results for self and others.

6

Comparing Leadership

Effectiveness

As well as differences in leadership behaviours (discussed above), observers also provided their scores on 26 Leadership Effectiveness items for the same leaders (see Diagram 3).

This adds a second layer of data to those obtained from leadership practices. In terms of effectiveness women were more likely to receive higher competency ratings in demonstrating ethical leadership and credibility with management. Therefore women leaders are significant in standing up for what they believe to be ethically sound, and inspiring confidence in management with their ability to communicate and deliver on promises. Men were rated by observers as higher on financial understanding, business aptitude and ability to see the big picture perspective.

This aligns with the concept of opportunity and exposure (in the literature of gender differences), where men have historically had much more opportunity as well as expectation to take on the organisational roles demanding more financial understanding, business aptitude, big picture thinking and long term planning.

Diagram 3: Leadership Effectiveness between Males and Females

Business aptitude -

Financial understanding -

Ability to see the big picture perspective -

Demonstrates ethical leadership -

Credibility with management -

Delivers results -

Ability to work with diverse people -

Willingness to listen -

Ability to make effective decisions -

Straightforward, open communicator -

Future potential -

Ability to build relationships with customers -

Takes initiative -

Capacity for effective thinking -

Credibility with peers and direct reports -

Sensitivity to other people’s feelings -

Fast learner -

Ability to turn around difficult situations -

Ability to develop people -

Conflict management -

Capacity to get people enthusiastic and involved -

Overall effectiveness as a leader/manager -

Understanding of how to use org. resources -

Capacity to contribute to team performance -

Ability to get things done through people -

Insight into people -

Odds a member of one group scoreshigher than a member of the other group

Effect Sizes — Leadership Effectiveness

Male higher

Female higher

No difference (p > 0.05)

1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3

7

When this sample of 590 Asian Leaders is compared to a similarly matched sample of 2338 leaders in the US and 1348 leaders in the UK over the same period of time, the overall patterns of gender differences in leadership are strikingly similar.

Men are higher on Strategic, Innovative, Delegation, being more Traditional and being able to show Restraint in their expressiveness. By comparison women are higher on Empathy, Feedback and Excitement, getting things done by energising people then following through by closely monitoring activities (Control).

However, there are some differences between Asian and Western leaders that are worth noting:

1. Communication and Persuasiveness Women in the Western world are seen as relatively more effective in clearly communicating their expectations. This clear expression usually translates into positive outcomes when it comes to motivating people and getting things done. However, it does not seem to translate into being more persuasive, where men in the Western world consistently score higher.

In Asia, both male and female leaders are equally talented in communication and being persuasive. This means that men are communicating sufficiently and making their expectations clear, and women are effectively convincing others and winning them over to their point of view.

Comparing Asian and Western Research Data 590

Asian Leader

2338Leaders in

the US

1384 Leaders in

the UK

8

2. Habitually Getting things Done Women are great at getting things done! This is even more evident in Asia, where female leaders are even higher on Production and Tactical compared to females in the US and the UK. Production is about pushing oneself and others to achieve at ambitious levels. Tactical involves personally taking care of things, often in detailed operational work and fire-fighting.

Unfortunately, this habit prevents female leaders from investing their energy into being strategic and innovative (which are keys to success in senior leadership roles). Studies from industry and academia* have shown systematic gender differences in how work is allocated, “with women spending relatively more time than men on non-promotable tasks and less time on promotable ones”. So unless there is a significant shift in balancing strategic and tactical leadership practices by female Asian leaders, organisations will continue to suffer from a lack of gender parity at senior levels.

3. Proactive in Pushing Back In the US and UK, female leaders tend to be higher on “Authority”. This translates into women being more subservient, and more likely to follow instructions and men being more likely to challenge or push back on their bosses when they disagree. In Asia, both male and female leaders are equally high on Authority (i.e. a high respect for authority), with a tendency to follow orders without pushing back. This suggests that leaders in Asia may benefit from being more assertive in managing up, especially if they are operating in a multi-national business environment.

* Harvard Business Review. 16 July 2018. Leading Team: Why Women Volunteer for Tasks That Don’t Lead to Promotions.

9

A Mandate for Leadership in the

Digital Age

The purpose of this report is to assess gender differences between female and male leaders in Asia and make recommendations for the advancement of female leaders. However any recommendations for leadership development will also need to take into account the demands on all leaders (female and male) in the digital age. That research was completed by MRG in 2017*. It gives a mandate for leadership which is briefly summarised in LEA™ terms:

▪ Creating a Vision: Strategic, Innovative and Technical ▪ Developing Followers: Persuasive and Restraint ▪ Implementing the Vision: Communication ▪ Achieving Results: Management Focus ▪ Team Playing: Authority (low score = a willingness to push back on seniors)

In short, that research predicts that male leaders (as defined by the data in the gender research) are likely to be advantaged in the digital world. Therefore the findings below from the digital research reinforce the agenda for advancement of female leaders suggested by the gender research.

A. Cognitive Strength: Strategic and InnovativeAsian men show higher effectiveness in Strategic and Innovative plus the areas of business acumen and financials. Innovation means they look at an existing solution through a fresh lens, think about new possibilities or invest in the time for long-range planning. Asian female leaders tend to get things done and ensure that things go as planned (Production, Control and Feedback). This leads to a depletion of time and energy that could have been used for strategic and higher-level thinking.

B. Impactful and Influential CommunicatorsMale and female leaders in Asia show equal strengths in Persuasive and Communication and are therefore regarded as influential communicators. However other research indicates that collectively they seem to fall short in translating those communication and persuasion skills to an international audience. Western leaders often report that Asian leaders are not bold in challenging nor in pushing back with senior leaders from overseas.

C. Cultivating Team CollaborationHere Asian female leaders have a clear advantage over their male counterparts with their higher scores on Excitement and Empathy. They use these behaviours to engage and motivate their team members and foster a sense of belonging. As robots will continue to take over many routine analytical and administrative tasks in the future, these soft skills will become even more essential. And tapping into people’s needs, empathising and fostering a safe environment for growth are a hallmark strength of the female leader.

D. Calm and Focused under PressureBoth women and men in Asia are equally comfortable taking the initiative in the leadership role. However, with their higher score on Restraint Asian male leaders are considered to show more calm under pressure. Therefore Asian women leaders perhaps need to work on developing a more composed interpersonal demeanour. Also important in this area is the high score on Authority for Asian leaders (both female and male) compared with Western leaders. So as Asian leaders have a high perceived need for authority and hierarchy they may feel disempowered in the non-hierarchical, matrix management structures adopted by multi-national companies.

* MRG Research Abstract: “Leadership Best Practices for Dealing with Ambiguity, Complexity and Paradox” 51600360© Management Research Group®

10

11

3Recommendations

for Advancing Women Leaders

in Asia

The data presented below is taken from the 4 parts of Section 2 above “Research Data – Female and Male Leaders in Asia”:

▪ Comparing Leadership Practices ▪ Comparing Leadership Effectiveness ▪ Comparing Asian and Western Research Data ▪ A Mandate for Leadership in the Digital Age

The comments and recommendations made are addressed to Asian female and male leaders who wish to grow in their careers and make a greater contribution to their companies. They are addressed to senior executives, especially those leading global companies, who feel they need to do more to advance female leaders.

Following the recommendations there are suggestions for action planning: ▪ Suggested Action Points for a Leadership Team (Board / Executive Committee) ▪ Suggested Action Points for Female Leaders

Finally, to appreciate how other companies continue to take action, see HP – Driving Diversity with Intentional People Strategies and Best Practices at the end of this section. This gives an excellent summary of best practices and solid recommendations which other companies can follow.

These recommendations are intended to ▪ inspire women leaders to identify and celebrate the strengths they bring

to leadership – and provide them with the impetus for accelerated development.

▪ enable senior executives to value diversity and appreciate the amazing results which happen when women and men co-create synergy in leadership teams.

12

Cognitive Strength Strategic and Innovative. Raise awareness and opportunities for female leaders to practice being more strategic. Find new ways to encourage and incentivise women to volunteer for opportunities that demand more innovation, business acumen and financial understanding.

Impactful and Influential Communicators Both male and female leaders in Asia can benefit by taking time to share ideas and practice new approaches for influencing senior stakeholders globally.

Cultivating Team CollaborationVisibly celebrate and champion female leaders for their strength in this area as role models, encouraging male leaders to do more in this area as well.

Calm and Focused under Pressure Encourage all leaders to speak up and establish clear and simple key points (backed by hard data and alternative solutions) so they calmly but assertively become bolder in steering decisions. Also, consider how matrix organisational structures may be holding Asian leaders back rather than increasing speed and collaboration (the intended outcome of the matrix).

Recommendations from:

Comparing Asian and Western

Research Data

A Mandate for Leadership in the

Digital Age

Make sure female leaders are put into senior leadership roles where they can contribute their characteristic focus for raising the bar on production and getting things done. And with their strengths in Empathy and Communication they also provide a valuable focus on employee engagement.

As women step up to be more Strategic and Innovative in their approach to leadership invite male leaders (who are gifted in these areas) to offer support and encouragement as mentors. It is also worth checking that male leaders are not overusing Traditional and Restraint – which may combine to produce a heavy, rather formal approach to the company’s leadership culture.

Get women leaders involved in projects where they can gain experience with the commercial aspects of the business. They are likely to make a more collaborative (less competitive) input to discussions. Also appoint women to leadership of projects which seek to raise the company’s performance in ethical and values-driven aspects of the business.

Communication and Persuasiveness You can rely on Asian female leaders to be influential communicators. Around the board room (or executive committee) table women leaders are likely to be as good as the men at putting ideas forward and defending them with tenacity.

Habitually Getting Things Done Asian female leaders are gifted at making things happen and you can rely on them to be attentive to goal setting then making sure the results are produced. Therefore to advance women leaders you will need to encourage them to delegate more and avoid the trap of getting stuck on short-term results (at the expense of long-term strategy).

Proactive in Pushing BackBoth men and women leaders in Asia need to reflect on their high scores on the need for Authority if they are to come across as powerful in an international leadership team. They will need to learn the mindset, then the skills for debating with other leaders and engaging in creative conflict.

Comparing Leadership Practices

Comparing Leadership Effectiveness

13

The suggestions below recommend actions which a company senior management team can take to create an inclusive organisation.

Suggested Action Points for a Leadership Team (Board / Executive Committee)

1. Ensure women’s leadership programmes include ample opportunities for women to take on roles and training that will develope their skills in strategic thinking, business acumen and financial planning and analysis.

2. Invest in job rotations to ensure both male and female employees are exposed to a variety of promotable tasks (ranging from tactical to strategic) earlier on in their careers and be aware of women putting their hand up for too many of the non-promotable tasks.

3. Create more open and collaborative platforms for female and male leaders to openly share. The aim is to acknowledge their strengths and support each other to boost leadership capabilities they each may be lacking.

4. Expand opportunities (e.g. forums) for women to have a very strong support network of male and female mentors and coaches both from within and outside the organisation.

5. Acknowledge that the confidence gap is still a significant barrier for women and invest in programmes to develop self-confidence and overcome limiting beliefs.

6. Develop initiatives to encourage women to develop mental, emotional and physical well-being to enhance higher thinking, creativity and innovation through energy management.

7. Establish co-creation or incubation labs to encourage experimentation. Then remove any hint of the blame culture and encourage learning from failures.

8. Top Management must walk the talk and drive change to ensure balanced representation of women and men at senior leadership levels, including at the board level. They should also ensure steady progress toward wage equality.

Suggestions for Action Planning

14

Suggested Action Points for Female Leaders

1. Make it a top priority to invest time to discover and develop your capabilities in business acumen, financial planning and analysis, strategic thinking and innovation.

2. Become aware of your own unconscious biases and tendencies to habitually get everything done for everyone and to volunteer for tasks that are not really helping you progress toward your goals. Take a step back and align yourself to your strategic goals before taking the ‘tactical plunge’.

3. Invest in the time to align your career development plans to your strategic goals. Any successful business has a clear strategy. What is your career strategy?

4. Take charge and be comfortable in a position of power. You are the driver of your future.

5. Learn to practice emotional restraint especially during stressful situations, e.g. try deep breathing, meditation or other mindfulness exercises to increase emotional intelligence and constructive expression of emotions.

6. Creativity and innovation will positively contribute to your path of development. Develop habits which cultivate divergent and convergent thinking.

7. Get used to failure and look forward to constructive criticism from others. In the digital world you are bound to be a novice at certain points in your career. Appreciating the bad as well as the good will help you accelerate your growth in leadership effectiveness.

The suggestions below give practical tips for female leaders who want to accelerate their career development.

15

In HP, we believe that better innovation comes from diverse, empowered teams and people. HP is reinventing the standard for diversity and inclusion — in how they operate as a company and how they impact society. Diversity is embedded in all they do, and every HP employee at every level plays a part. By valuing differences — whether race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, ability, marital status, religion, generation, sexual orientation, or views, we engage top industry talent to drive our company’s long-term success. This culture is not only limited to HP, but the expectation also extends to its external vendors.

“Women’s Impact Network” is only a part of our D&I programme. At HP, we also promote equality for employees with special needs e.g. physical movements or hearing, through the “HP HOPE Programme”.

HP serves as a great example of progress when it comes to showcasing a mature D&I movement. HP’s best practices, shown below, have enabled the company to achieve an enviable record of over 33% representation of female leaders at C-levels in China.

Talent Development and Succession PlanningHP commits to offer equal opportunities for our employees. Employees are valued and recognised based on their capabilities and performance. As such, growth is facilitated through fair competition and not based on female leadership quotas.

However, certain ‘intentional campaigns’ are used to support the ratio of female leaders in the pipeline, e.g. during recruitment HR will recommend a fair representation of both genders for each position. The objective is not to influence

the hiring manager’s decisions, but to ensure there is sufficient visibility of gender diversity in the talent pool. All potential candidates will then experience the same selection process, and the final selection will be 100% merit-based.

For leadership development programmes that have limited seats, HR will occasionally remind managers to consider diversity during the nomination process. However, seats will not be reserved for females who do not qualify for participation in these programmes.

Work-life Balance and Well Being

The high level of empathy and flexibility from HP’s leadership promotes a great

HP – Driving Diversity with Intentional People Strategies and Best Practices

work-life balance for employees. Practical initiatives which are particularly helpful to working mothers include flexi working arrangements when needed. Further there are employee assistance programmes (EAP) with a 24-hour hotline for anyone with physical or mental health challenges. HP also has Medical Rooms (for employees with acute conditions), onsite doctors to provide common medication and Child Emergency Training for all employees.

Supporting Maternity

HP’s policy is to avoid disturbing the employee during her period of maternity leave. As such, teams work cohesively to ensure continuity with proper back-up and handover. Maternity leave also provides

Success Story HP China

16

a great opportunity for rotation of roles. Especially for China, when the maternity duration is about 4 to 5 months, maternity leave provides an ideal opportunity for other employees to learn and grow beyond their usual scope of work. As such “maternity gaps” are perceived positively within HP.

In addition, HP also has Nursing Rooms and new mothers who do not feel ready to return to work can also tap into the EAP Hotline for psychological support.

Other markets offer policies on no-pay leave or half-day leave or some can choose to break their maternity leave into 2 months + 2 months, but these do not apply to China. In China, the employee can

leave work 1 hour earlier for breast feeding purposes, and it is up to her to decide on a longer lunch break (to go home) or leaving work earlier or coming to work later.

Line managers will also receive a reminder checklist one month before the employee returns (either from maternity or from extended sick-leave) and this prepares the manager to understand the “condition” of the returning employee. Managers can also initiate a warming-call or gathering with team members before the date of return.

Programmes for Female Leadership Development at HP

1. The Catalyst@HP Talent Programme: An 18-month programme (initiated at Global level) designed for female and minority groups. This virtual programme offers participants the opportunity to develop technical and leadership skills.

2. HPmentorship: APJ initiated Mentoring Program. Women’s Impact Network is part of the community participation program to advance female employees’ careers.

3. International Women’s Week Celebration (the week of 8 March): Specific themes are defined annually e.g. in 2018, the theme was ‘Confidence’ and a variety of activities were arranged based on building confidence.

4. Talent Roundtable Discussions: Sharing from HP’s female leaders worldwide on their experiences and inspiring a development journey.

Conclusion

The keys to success at C-levels are cultivating curiosity, leading with a growth mindset, and being able to learn fast and carve out the competitive advantage. In developing senior talent, HP recommends the 3 P’s – passion, patience and persistence. Overall, female leaders need to experiment with a wider variety of experiences and challenge themselves with higher goals.

Female leaders need to experiment with a wider variety of experiences and

challenge themselves with higher goals.

17

Hong Kong . Beijing . Shanghai . Taipei . Singapore

Contact us:

Robin Ball Jonathan Wong Christine Yeo (852) 9682 9614 (852) 9022 2579 (86) 18610 513 571