How empowering girls and women through sport and information will benefit the economy

Female leaders Sarah Chen-Spellings, Kay McArdle, Manisha Wijesinghe, and Alicia Lui discuss the relationship between women and the economy

During the Tatler Gen.T Summit, which took place in Hong Kong from November 9-10 this year, Sarah Chen-Spellings, co-founder and managing partner of Beyond The Billion, “the premier mobiliser of funds fuelling women-led innovation”, moderated the Beyond the F Word: Harnessing the Power of The Female Economy panel.

The discussion featured Kay McArdle, founder and director of Equal Justice, which helps disadvantaged people find solutions to legal and other problems; Manisha Wijesinghe, the executive director of Help for Domestic Workers, which ensures Hong Kong’s foreign domestic helpers are given the protection they deserve; and Alicia Lui, founder of Women In Sports Empowered Hong Kong, which empowers women and girls through sports.

Here are the highlights from that panel.

You might also like: Why Sarah Chen-Spellings is investing a billion dollars in female founders

Above Alicia Lui (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)

Above Manisha Wijesinghe (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)

On how getting women in sport is only the beginning

“Sports is really just part of society. And so when you get women and girls participating in sports—getting them engaged in the whole ecosystem of what the sports industry is—you’re really getting them involved in society. [As an example], the US ... is investing into women’s leagues, football clubs; you have stadiums that are purpose-built for women’s sports. We don’t have anything of that nature yet. There’s also sponsorship money. So much is going into how you raise the visibility of women’s sports. I don’t necessarily want to think of it [women’s sport] as [something] segregated by gender. In Asia, the whole sports industry still [offers many] untapped opportunities.” — Alicia Lui

On how migrant domestic workers, many of whom are women, are the backbone of our economy—and the importance of raising awareness of it

“One of our biggest priorities is to make sure that the conversation around the care economy becomes a priority. When I was in my own country [Sri Lanka], I used to see the impact that migrant workers would have on the economy, individual families and making sure that their communities are able to succeed. Ten years ago, when I came to Hong Kong, I also saw the other side of the impact that they have in their destination countries. I’m sure many of us who are sitting here today are sitting here because there is somebody [a migrant domestic worker they employ] taking our kids to school, making our lunches, taking care of the elderly or sick [in the family]. What was so surprising for me was the fact that we were not talking about that. We were talking about issues related to domestic workers as extremely separate to the issues related to our economies and our society, whether it’s in Hong Kong, or in the Asia Pacific region.” — Manisha Wijesinghe

Above Sarah Chen-Spellings (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)

Above Kay McArdle (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)

On the lack of access to information

“It’s often said: we must democratise this or democratise that. But really, access to information is absolutely key. Legal information should be in people’s hands ... it should be in a language they understand.

You know what it feels like when you get a new oven or microwave. But imagine if that microwave is your life, and you’re not that well-educated, or there are no instructions, or ... you haven’t been told that there was a manual. You’re not taught about it in school.

This should be information we all have, so that we know how to play the game, whatever life game we’re playing, we can come up against the rules without always having to pay for private practice level, access to legal information and support.” — Kay McArdle

On how to see women in sport as an untapped opportunity

“Think about the woman as a consumer—as an asset worth investing in. You have women who grew up not really watching sport: how do you convert them into a fan? That's a huge opportunity there—how’d you convert women into participating in sports. So it’s not just about the sports fields anymore. It is around the equipment they need: the shoes, the clothes, all of these are still growing opportunities that I think are worth considering ... Across all spectrums, there are really things that you can think about how you can use your knowledge or resources to help support that.” — Alicia Lui

Above A summary of key takeaways from the panel (Infographic: Thoth)

On investing in the ecosystem of caregiving

“Try to think differently and broader in terms of where we’re investing our money. If we’re looking to make our workforce dynamic, if we’re looking to develop our cities and our countries, we need to invest in the entire ecosystem. Every one of us is going to be having care needs at some point in our lives, whether it’s for our children, whether it’s for our parents, for somebody we love. Having that support at home [a caregiver] is vital to making sure that we can be continuing with our day-to-day life.”— Manisha Wijesinghe

Read more articles from the Tatler Gen.T Summit 2023 here.

The Tatler Gen.T Summit is sponsored by Standard Chartered Private Bank, Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong and MTR Lab, organised in partnership with M+, Regent, Black Sheep and Cathay Pacific and supported by Brand Hong Kong, Hong Kong Tourism Board and InvestHK.

NOW READ

How Hong Kong domestic workers’ mental health and silent struggles are systematically neglected—and how that impacts local families

Alicia Lui is using sport to empower women and girls in Hong Kong

Kay McArdle and Manisha Wijesinghe discuss the challenges and rewards of working in the non-profit space

Topics

Gen.T Tatler Gen.T Summit Sarah Chen-Spellings Manisha Wijesinghe Female leaders in Hong Kong