Hongkong Land champions women empowerment, gender diversity and inclusion with WOMEN in CENTRAL initiative

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 April 2024 - Hongkong Land today announces the successful launch of WOMEN in CENTRAL, a major initiative aimed at creating an inclusive community in its Central Portfolio in Hong Kong that can unite around gender diversity in the workplace and in leadership roles. The initiative brings together female and male professionals in information-sharing events and casual gatherings to educate, connect, give back, spread best practices, and build community within the Hongkong Land ecosystem in Central.

"Hongkong Land is strongly committed to promoting women empowerment and gender diversity in our business and in the community where we operate," said Ms Yolice Wu, Executive Director, Hongkong Land. "I am thrilled to officially announce the WOMEN in CENTRAL initiative soon after International Women's Day. As Central's largest commercial landlord, we are uniquely positioned to remove the figurative walls that separate our over 400 tenants across our 12 office buildings in the heart of Central and to lead our community in driving diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace and in society."

Strong collaboration and participation among tenants

Drawing on the support of its Central Portfolio's community of more than 400 office and retail tenants, including some of the most influential international and local financial and professional services firms, WOMEN in CENTRAL has organised eight events in its first full year since inception. These events have been jointly developed and hosted with a variety of tenants including Herbert Smith Freehills, HKU iCube, KPMG, Mayer Brown, White & Case, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and NET-A-PORTER. More than 700 professionals across all seniority levels and genders have participated.

Notable events have included The Challenges of Parenting with KPMG, Wellness in the Corporate World with HKU iCube, Gender diversity challenges and opportunities in the legal profession with Mayer Brown and Women In Private Equity with White & Case and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

Commenting on Mayer Brown's partnership with Hongkong Land and WOMEN in CENTRAL, Mr Hong Tran, Partner, Employment & Benefits, said: "With more than 75 law firms residing in Hongkong Land's offices in Central, we recognise that WOMEN in CENTRAL is a tremendous platform to discuss the challenges and opportunities surrounding gender diversity in the legal profession and explore ways to nurture the next generation of women leaders. We look forward to deepening our collaboration with WOMEN in CENTRAL as it expands its engagement efforts this year and beyond."

Looking ahead, WOMEN in CENTRAL aims to increase the number and frequency of its events in Hong Kong and drive greater participation among its tenants. Next month, it will partner with Deacons to co-host All Aboard: Achieving Diversity in the Boardroom, a seminar to explore the importance of gender diversity in corporate leadership.

Achieving positive change within the Group

Complementing WOMEN in CENTRAL, the Group has set out key inclusion, equity and diversity ("IE&D") goals in its Sustainability Framework 2030. These include ensuring gender balance in management positions, increasing women board representation to 30%, and achieving gender pay parity.

Gradual progress is being made toward reaching these goals. This includes increasing women board representation to 22%, identifying 16 women for future leadership roles and providing them with tailored leadership and development courses, and developing comprehensive diversity & inclusion dashboards to track hiring, promotion, and leaver statistics. As shown by the latter, last year, the Group experienced a 66% inflow of female leaders compared to a 33% outflow.

While the Group has some way to go to meet its IE&D goals its achievements with WOMEN in CENTRAL were recognised by The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong which named Hongkong Land as a finalist for the Women of Influence Awards under the category of "Best Company Championing Women."

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Hongkong Land

Hongkong Land is a major listed property investment, management and development group. Founded in 1889, Hongkong Land's business is built on excellence, integrity and partnership.

The Group owns and manages more than 850,000 sq. m. of prime office and luxury retail assets in key Asian cities, principally Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Jakarta. Its properties hold industry leading green building certifications and attract the world's foremost companies and luxury brands.

The Group's Central Hong Kong portfolio represents some 450,000 sq. m. of prime property. It has a further 165,000 sq. m. of prestigious office space in Singapore mainly held through joint ventures, five retail centres on the Chinese mainland, including a luxury retail centre at Wangfujing in Beijing, and a 50% interest in a leading office complex in Central Jakarta. The Group also has a number of high-quality residential, commercial and mixed-use projects under development in cities across China and Southeast Asia, including a 43% interest in a 1.1 million sq. m. mixed-use project in West Bund, Shanghai. Its subsidiary, MCL Land, is a well-established residential developer in Singapore.

Hongkong Land Holdings Limited is incorporated in Bermuda and has a primary listing in the standard segment of the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings in Bermuda and Singapore. The Group's assets and investments are managed from Hong Kong by Hongkong Land Limited. Hongkong Land is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.