BEIJING, May 16 -- The first Women's Forum for Economy and Society to be held in Asia opened on Shanghai Bund yesterday, drawing more than 600 high-profile delegates from 30 countries and regions for the fourth annual event.
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The first Women's Forum for Economy and Society to be held in Asia opened on Shanghai Bund yesterday, drawing more than 600 high-profile delegates from 30 countries and regions for the fourth annual event. (Photo: China Daily) |
The three-day forum focusing on women's societal and economic contributions is shedding light on a broad range of issues, such as economic development, corporate social responsibility, global warming, socio-economic divides and education.
"Bringing the Women's Forum to Asia, specifically China, is extraordinarily significant," Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, founder and president of the forum, said at yesterday's opening, where she and other delegates reached into their own pockets to support thousands of Sichuan earthquake victims.
Women play a key role in Asian economies and societies, and the forum is devising ways to encourage more of them to become entrepreneurs.
China currently has 347 million women workers, according to Zhen Yan, Secretary General of the All-China Women's Federation.
Although they account for 45.4 percent of the total workforce, only one in five entrepreneurs are women.
"As the Chinese proverb goes, women hold up half the sky," Zhen said. "And females have made tremendous contributions to impel countries' rapid progress."
Ying Yicui, deputy Party chief of Shanghai, said the location of this year's forum was of special significance.
"The selection of Shanghai for this forum is of significance for our city's development," she said.
"Shanghai, as a meeting place for eastern and Western cultures, will bring women more choices for progress".
Maria Livanos Cattaui, a board member of Petrolus Holdings, pointed out several challenges that growth and sustainability will pose to emerging economies, particularly China, in the next 15 years.
Problems she raised include stimulating strong economic growth, people's rising expectations and demands, more efficient use of natural resources, aging populations and sustainable development.
Income disparity, low domestic consumption and the relatively low educational level of workers were also discussed.
Women's role in families was also a hot topic, especially after their shift in recent years away from conventional work to more cutting-edge fields of high technology, such as electronics, finance and aviation.
"In Asia's family structure, parents live with their children, which frees young parents to go out and work," Euleen Goh, former CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore, said, adding that such support, together with educational and workplace equality, were affording Asian women better career progression opportunities than their Western counterparts.
Other topics discussed at the forum include leadership among women entrepreneurs and how China and India are impacting the world.
The Financial Times hailed the forum among the top-five most influential of its kind in 2007.
The first three editions were held in the French city of Deauville.
(Source: China Daily)
