Women Leaders of New Asia Summit opens in Shanghai

At the opening session of the Asia Society's Women Leaders of New Asia Summit, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Asia Society, released "Rising to the Top: A Report on Women's Leadership in Asia", a new study that highlights the current socio-economic landscape for women in China and the region. The report discusses gender gap issues and presents policy recommendations for governments and corporations to ease gender inequality from birth to leadership.

The report shows that rapid growth in China,India and other powerful Asian economies has narrowed gender inequality on health and survival, educational attainment, economic opportunity and political empowerment. However, deeply rooted traditions change slowly and there are visible social problems facing women due to heavily male-dominated governments, and a "leaking pipeline" of women leaving their professions mid-career in the public and private sectors.

Talented and ambitious women are a crucial part of the driving force behind Asia's growth and competitiveness and so a broad campaign is necessary to educate and push for a change in perception. Three shifts need to happen: 1) societies must perceive girls to be as valuable as boys; 2) societies must view women as having similar abilities and potential to lead as men; and 3) societies must be more open to gender roles where women lead outside the home and men do more in the home. These shifts will give women a louder voice at home, at work, and within society. Overcoming social and cultural norms is difficult, but change can happen when regional giantsChinaandIndiatake the lead.

Dr. Astrid Tuminez, Vice Dean (Research) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore), states: "One of the greatest challenges today is how to leverage human development to benefit women's leadership. Even in countries where women have advanced in health and education, social norms continue to impede them from rising to positions of greater authority and visibility. We need a broad public campaign to educate men, women, and youth to push for a change in how girls and women are perceived and valued. Governments will need to step in with affirmative action programs, mass media campaigns, and more laws to reduce domestic violence and give women more equal rights and treatment in marriage, the home and the work place. In our report, we have recommended some policies to help change social norms. If these are not implemented, the full potential ofAsia's human capital will never be realized."

This year the Asia Society is hosting the third Women Leaders of New Asia summit in Shanghai and Zhenjiang,China. The three-day summit will bring a diverse group of women from China and Asia together to find practical solutions to problems by promoting connectivity, communication, collaboration, and catalyzing action across all sectors. Delegates will discuss the current challenges women face in the rapidly changing environment, share case studies and develop actionable items to address regional issues. Delegates will experience first-hand the influence of second-tier "middle-weight" cities that are particularly present in China and India, and that will contribute the largest share of global GDP growth over the next 15 years.

"This summit is organized to provide a network of women leaders in the region and guide them to make changes politically, economically, and socially," said Vishakha N. Desai, President of Asia Society. "Our goal is to identify and examine the nature of women's leadership, build a community of women leaders to effect change, and determine how to mentor future leaders. We see an increasing number of women entering the work force; however it doesn't necessarily mean there has been a change in the structure of gender inequality. These future female leaders seek guidance on how to balance their multiple roles."

Asia Society's 2012 Women Leaders of New Asia Summit will host over 120 delegates from the Asia Pacific region with leading women from private and public corporations, government sectors, civil society, universities, and more. Through group discussions, sharing of best practices, and developing specific action items, they will help prepare the next generation of women leaders to navigate the path to successful global leadership.