In sports and in business, women have long fought for a place at the top. That made the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open a fitting time to bring together a high-profile line-up of international tennis players and executives with global reach for an exclusive event championing the success of female leaders.
Women Aces in Leadership, organised by Prudential, took place last month in Hong Kong. The event was held in conjunction with the women’s tennis tournament, which Prudential has been supporting since 2014, as part of the company’s efforts to spotlight the importance of resilience for younger generations and also drive diversity, equality and inclusion in the sports and business arenas.
Angel Ng, regional CEO for Greater China, customer and wealth, at Prudential Group, said in her opening speech at the event: “One of the missions of Prudential is to encourage people to embrace a healthy as well as an active life. That’s why we are so committed to supporting women in sports.”
More than 120 guests gathered to hear two panel discussions in which seven female leaders from the sports and business worlds, including four-time tennis Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, shared their personal journeys to success in their respective fields.
The first discussion, titled “Rising Stars: Mentorship and Mental Resilience for Tomorrow’s Leaders”, featured Osaka along with Lilian Ng, managing director of the Strategic Business Group at Prudential Group, and Mary Huen, CEO of Hong Kong, Greater China and north Asia at Standard Chartered Bank.
The panellists talked about the challenges that emerging female leaders face, and the role that mental resilience plays in managing high-pressure situations.
“We have to develop the habit of being able to spot the silver lining,” Huen said. “That is the ability to pull yourself out from the failures.”
The three discussed how mentorship can provide guidance for personal growth within a psychological safety net, and also highlighted the “Wonder Woman syndrome” that often affects female leaders as they put pressure on themselves to do well in both their professional and personal lives.
Lilian Ng explained: “This is a pressure that a lot of women put on themselves. It’s a passive expectation of women, and that’s where we need to promote self-care. It’s OK to ask for help.”
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