It may be difficult to imagine that a country with an international human rights record as bad as China’s is entertaining the concept of affirmative action.

The Politburo may not be, but the business community is along with some women leaders within it.

Affirmative action, you may already understand, “refers to policies that take gender, race, or ethnicity into account in an attempt to promote equal opportunity,” according to Wikipedia. It China, it seems only natural that these efforts - to maximize the benefits of diversity and redress past discriminating wrongs – should begin with women.

With its arcane hukou residency system still in place, which essentially limits the migration of China’s ethnic workers to its most prosperous cities, China isn’t going to be finding many Fortune 500 managers from Urumqi anytime soon.

It is, however, ready for women to take more serious roles in business, according to Lin Gao, senior IT manager at Motorola and chairperson of the China Women Business Council.

Don’t look to government policies to promote the cause of women in business. Although in China, “‘preferential policies’ required some of the top positions in governments be distributed to ethnic minorities and women,” according to Wikipedia, women’s moves to the corner office is taking place thanks to – apart from their own efforts – the efforts of their companies.

According to Ms. Gao, writing for AmCham China’s China Brief magazine:

With today’s increasingly global business environment, companies understand the need to develop a diversified workforce—including strong women in leadership. Some companies impose hard measures to consider at least one female candidate during the hiring process. Others choose to tackle the issue from its root cause by developing more women leaders within the company, attracting and retaining talented women with a “women friendly” corporate culture.

Having a women’s networking group is an effective way to promote such a culture. Companies such as IBM, GE, Cisco and Motorola have championed such efforts, including recently in China.

Ms. Gao notes that Motorola China has initiated a women’s business group, and similar groups do well when they emphasize the following:

• It is important that these groups stress that women may not necessarily have more challenges than men, but we have different needs and challenges, and we learn differently.
• A women’s networking group is about developing strong female leadership so we have the strength to cope with the unique challenges we face.
• From the start, having a vision is important, as volunteer organizations that lack purpose often lose focus and value. A focus on leadership development, and addressing the skills and social gaps, often incorporating men into the activities, is a good place to start.

Further, women’s business groups incorporating lunchtime seminars, Toastmasters, parents clubs, and networking events are likely to have some measures of success, Ms. Gao suggests.

So, are there really more Chinese career women as a result of China’s modernization?

Even back in 2004, a Christian Science Monitor interview with Li Yifei, managing director of MTV China, said yes, and for good reason:

Chinese women are only now beginning to move out. Yes, if you look at the absolute numbers, especially at upper management and for entrepreneurs, we are still a tiny minority. But the growth of upper-level women is increasing. The most popular panel at the All-China Women’s Federation conference is on “women in management.” A lot of guys show up, too.

The women I associate with, those in my generation who have education or college, are more sensitive and less threatening. They are a fit for the way corporate China is moving. They are good at talking in several worlds, to government officials, to ordinary people, to family.

Perhaps someday, China’s laws will have something akin to U.S. Executive Orders 11246 and 11375, which Wikipedia notes, “prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, skin color, religion, gender, or national origin.”

Until then, look to business and other groups to plant the seeds of affirmative action in China, opening the glass ceiling for women, and hopefully soon enough, minorities.

    Channel: What's Spicy     |