Cover From left: Natasha Shroff, Jessie Li, The Women Foundation CEO Fiona Nott and Ewa Stachurska (Photo: courtesy of The Women’s Foundation)
From left: Natasha Shroff, Jessie Li, The Women Foundation CEO Fiona Nott and Ewa Stachurska (Photo: courtesy of The Women’s Foundation)
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The event, which welcomed over 460 guests, raised more than HK$500,000, which will go towards improving the lives of women in Hong Kong
When? February 28, 2025
Where? Conrad Hong Kong
Who? Fiona Nott, Angelina Kwan, Joanna Hotung, Vivian Siu and more
Here’s what you missed:
The Women’s Foundation (TWF) organised its annual International Women’s Day lunch at the Grand Ballroom at The Conrad Hong Kong. The event, which was themed “step into a gender-equal future”, celebrated women in sport and highlighted its role in advancing gender equality.
Attendees included industry titans such as Angelina Kwan, TWF board chair and managing director of Stratford Finance; Joanna Hotung, founder and CEO of children’s arts and English language education company KG Group; financial educational platform Sophia co-founders Nicole Denholder and Christine Yu; as well as Elizabeth Thomson, founder and chairwoman of The Amber Foundation, a Hong Kong non-profit supporting under-served communities.
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The Women’s Foundation CEO Fiona Nott (Photo: courtesy of The Women’s Foundation)
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As the guests sat down for lunch, motivational speaker and philanthropist Robyn Lamsam kicked things off with a welcome note, followed by a powerful opening speech by TWF CEO Fiona Nott. “Perception changes and terminology evolves, but one truth remains constant: the benefits of equality are undeniable,” she said. “This moment forces us to reimagine what’s possible.”
The panel discussion that followed did exactly that. Three panellists, all dedicated to celebrating gender equality in sport, took to the stage: Chen Lu, mainland China’s first figure skating Olympic medallist; James Farndon, the CEO of Hong Kong China Rugby; and Vivian Siu, a race car driver who won gold at the inaugural FIA Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship 2023 for the Hong Kong China Team. Moderated by Jessica Chan, head of investor solutions at JLL Hong Kong and TedX speaker, they discussed developments for gender equality in sports.
Chen shared her journey towards securing bronze at the 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics—at a time when those competing in figure skating in her home country were few and far between. Siu, who recently released her documentary Zero to Macau, shared how she became the first Chinese woman to participate in the Macau Grand Prix, known as one of the most challenging race tracks in the world, while juggling a full-time job Farndon spoke about how rugby has been embracing women’s participation in recent years and shared his hopes for it to continue in the future.
Angelina Kwan, Board Chair of the Women’s Foundation and Managing Director at Stratford Finance (Photo: courtesy of The Women’s Foundation)
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After the panel, students Sora Guan Yuying and Joyce Kwok Tung Yan, participants of TWF’s Girls Go Tech programme and Step into STEM Scholarship recipients, shared heartwarming stories about following their dreams to work in engineering and science.
During the event, guests also took part in a pledge that raised more than HK$500,000. The proceeds from the pledge will go towards supporting the organisation’s goal to improve the lives of women in Hong Kong through mentoring programmes and other initiatives.
Salomé Grouard was Digital Editor and Front & Female Content Lead at Tatler Hong Kong. Primarily focused on managing Tatler Hong Kong’s digital platform and content, she also covers gender equality, the music scene and sports through interviews with industry leaders, experts and trendsetters.
Interview highlights include renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, Korean actor Park Seo Jun, singer Jorja Smith, Chinese TV host Yue-Sai Kan, YouTuber Kimono Mom, Japanese rapper Awich, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Mikey Musumeci.
She has also produced stories on revolutionising sexual wellness in Asia, activism within the surfing community, Asian trans musicians reclaiming their narratives through music and looked at the toxicity of gym culture through the lens of the plus-size community. She also covers music festivals, such as Hong Kong’s Clockenflap and Bali’s Suara.
