Ctrip continues to enhance female presence and
gender equality
SHANGHAI, March 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As 2018's
International Women's Day approaches, Ctrip's CEO Jane Sun shared her thoughts on women's
presence, their contributions to innovation and the importance of
tackling the issue of the 'Glass Ceiling' in the workforce.
Ctrip CEO Jane Sun's Article
Shattering the 'Glass Ceiling': Greater female presence
needed for innovation
By Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip
Women have been asking for equal labor right and social status
since the establishment of the International Women's Day in 1910.
It is common sense for a responsible company to provide equal
career development and remuneration for women. According to the
report by the Economist, the rate of Chinese women's
participation in the workplace is almost 70%, higher than most of
developed economies like the US, EU and Japan.
We are now in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, an
era characterized by technological fusions and the integration of
Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Cloud Computing. This has
catalyzed our creativity and bridged the physical gap between
individuals. Men and women have equal rights in intelligence and
competency.
Technology advancement has provided women with more
opportunities and broader platform for career development. We have
discovered that women also play a crucial role in internet
companies. In Bloomberg's report, 17% of venture capital companies'
partners are female in China. In
the US, this number rests at 10%. While 80% of venture capital
companies in China have at least
one female partner, in the US, this is only 50%.
Ctrip is a leading internet travel company in the world and
China's largest. Women represent
over more than half of our 30,000 plus employee base. This rate far
exceeds the average internet companies in China and Silicon Valley. Ctrip from day one,
18 years ago, have promoted gender equality. We recruit based on
each employee's competency level and we have a series of policies
to encourage workplace growth for women. We adhere firmly to United
Nation Women's Empowerment Principles.
From our experience, women have played important roles driving
good corporate governance and fostering a culture of teamwork.
Decisions made by female leadership are more meticulous and
balances risk and reward better. Actions are execute with more
communication, consideration and organization. Fiscal policies are
gear towards long-term sustainability.
Our female employees have foster teamwork and communication, and
are more open to different perspectives. This has complemented well
with our male employee base that are generally very good at fast
execution. Our organizational diversity and the qualities that
women bring to the table has help enable Ctrip to generate large
and sustainable investment returns for our stakeholders through the
years. I feel it is critically important to encourage and
incorporate the female voice. It will also help greatly to have
more women leadership devote more time to provide guidance and
become role models for aspiring women.
Disconcertedly, figures show workplace gender equality still has
a long way to go. Only 10% of Fortune Global 500 Companies have
female Directors on their boards. And only 3% of these companies
have female CEOs. Internet companies' female representation is even
lower. In many of these companies, it is rare to see any female
leadership in key management positions.
Technology companies represent innovation and revolution. I
think it is only fitting that we see more and more technology
companies take on leading roles in fostering equal rights for
women, provide processes for women to grow their careers, and most
importantly, shatter any sort of 'glass ceiling'. And to further
reinforce the point, shattering the 'glass ceiling' is not just
about recruiting more women. It is about giving women equal
opportunities to take on more leadership roles. There are more than
1,000 executives represented in the Top 100 US companies. The large
majority of women are in supportive roles such as HR, PR and legal
adviser. Seldom do we see women taking on key management roles.
We are making some breakthroughs though. In recent years, a
quarter of entrepreneurs in China
are women. And I am most delighted to learn that 55% of new
internet companies are started by women in China, according to the Chinese government. We
are progressing as an industry. For Ctrip, female leadership, is
already well represented, with nine women leaders including myself,
forming our key management team. Women also help lead many of the
technological developments and innovations at Ctrip. Out of our
7,000 engineers, roughly 30% are female engineers. Ctrip has
demonstrated that women can be as good as men in technology
development too.
As the Women's Rights Movement continues, and in light of
International Women Day, I hope more and more women can be liberate
from traditional family roles and given more opportunities to work
alongside their male counterparts in driving growth and innovation.
Every company has the responsibility to instill a gender equality
foundation to create a fair environment for our future generations.
Ctrip will continue to lead the charge for equal rights for women
and provide a broad platform for females to contribute and grow
meaningfully in the workforce.
For further information, please contact:
International PR
Ctrip.com International, ltd.
Tel: (+86) 21 3406 4880 ext 196455
Email: Pr@ctrip.com
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SOURCE Ctrip.com International, Ltd.