Women in Business: Closing the gender gap in employment and leadership

Gender diversity is good for business. Significant research has shown that closing the gender gap in employment and leadership can spark innovation, attract the best talent, and increase productivity.  However, many companies continue to lag behind in gender diversity, while gender pay gaps and discrimination against women in the workplace remain problems throughout the world. 

Against the backdrop of the dual public health and economic crisis presented by COVID-19, in which women and ethnic minorities have been disproportionately affected, building systems to support women’s leadership and participation in business and society has never been more urgent. 

Saudi Arabia – Chair of the G20 this year – has made ‘Women in Business’ its signature topic, and the top of its Business 20 (B20) agenda.  For the first time, the B20 has established an Action Council focused on issues and challenges around gender diversity and economic empowerment of women, comprising more than 50 global business leaders from different G20 countries, with the aim of providing policy recommendations, delivering tangible actions and spurring real cultural transformation.  

In partnership with Standard Chartered, whose CEO Bill Winters co-chairs the B20 Women in Business Action Council, Asia House is bringing together business leaders and policy experts in this roundtable to reflect on the importance of women in global growth, the role of government actions in closing the gender gaps that persist in female employment and leadership, and the broader cultural transformation that is required for building an environment where both women and men support equality in leadership.  

To register interest in this event, please email Edward Danks, Content Producer: edward.danks@asiahouse.co.uk 

SPEAKERS

Tanuj Kapilashrami,
Group Head of HR, Standard Chartered Bank 

Tanuj joined the Management Team as Group Head, HR in November 2018. She joined the Bank in March 2017 as Group Head, Talent, Learning and Culture, and took on additional responsibility as Global Head HR, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking in May 2018. Career: Prior to joining the Group, Tanuj built her career at HSBC. She has worked across multiple HR disciplines in many of our footprint markets (Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, India and London).

External appointments: Tanuj is a member of the Asia House board of trustees, of which Standard Chartered is a founding stakeholder. Asia House is a London-based centre of expertise on trade, investment and public policy whose mission it is to drive political, economic and commercial engagement between Asia and Europe. Tanuj is a Non-Executive Director of the Board for Sainsburys PLC.

Shinta Widjaja Kamdani
Chief Executive Officer of the Sintesa Group and Co-Chair of the B20 Action Council on Women in Business

As Owner and Chief Executive Officer of the Sintesa Group, Shinta is responsible for the management and expansion of the Group’s business interests in Indonesia. The Sintesa Group is an Indonesian group with 16 subsidiaries, which operate in the Property, Energy, Industrial Products, and Consumer Products sectors.

As a businesswoman, Shinta is involved in numerous business and social activities, including as the Vice Chairwoman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN Indonesia) and Employers’ Association of Indonesia (APINDO), Executive Board of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), as well as President of Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD) and Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE), Founder of Angel Investment Network Indonesia (ANGIN), and the Member of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Indonesia. She is also has chosen by the United Nations as one of 30 global corporate leaders to join the Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD Alliance).

Shinta is one of the co-chairs of the B20 Action Council on Women in Business.

Shinta graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University New York in 1989 and Executive Education at Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 2002. As part of her achievement, she received awards amongst others from FORBES Asia’s 50 Powerful Businesswomen (2012, 2013, & 2016), 30 Best CEOs by Business Indonesia Award in 2015, in 2017, she was decorated as the Commander of the Polar Star by the King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and the Commander of the Order of Leopold of Belgium. And in 2019, she was awarded as Woman Entrepreneur of the Year at the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Award (ACES Award).

Barbara Harvey
Managing Director, Accenture Research

Barbara Harvey is a managing director in Accenture Research and is the lead for Accenture’s research on workplace equality. Barbara joined Accenture in 1997 to establish an advanced research capability. That team is now a global, end-to-end research capability of 300 people. The research team has experts in every industry and all aspects of business (digital, AI, future workforce, etc) and has technical experts who provide expertise in, for example, statistics, economic modeling and data science. Barbara has a BSc in Geography from Exeter University and over 25 years of experience in research, spanning quantitative techniques and statistical methods, qualitative research, ethnographics and business research.

Barbara is the co-founder and executive sponsor of Accenture UKI’s award-winning Mental Health programme. She is a ‘Straight Ally’ for our LGBT community and actively promotes Accenture’s Inclusion & Diversity initiatives.

HE Ms. Janice Charette
High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland and Permanent Representative of
Canada to the International Maritime Organization

Janice Charette assumed her responsibilities as High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on September 7, 2016. Prior to this, Ms. Charette served as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet from October 2014 to January 2016 where she served as the principal public service advisor to Canada’s Prime Minister in addition to her role as head of the public service. Previously, she was Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet as well as Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.

In a career that has spanned 8 ministries, Ms. Charette held senior executive positions across files that included skills development, labour markets, immigration, citizenship, employment insurance, health and justice. Her early career included work in the Privy Council Office, finance, regulatory affairs, federal-provincial relations and in the Prime Minister’s office. Ms. Charette worked in the private sector from 1996 to 1999, first as Principal in the management
consulting firm of Ernst & Young, and as Director of the Transition Team for the newly formed Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Ms. Charette is a member of the Board of Directors of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group and is a champion for mental health and wellness in the workplace. In 2008, she was national Chair for the United Way’s Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign, raising over CAD$36 million for communities and national health charities across Canada. She was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2013 and 2014.