Study: HK female consumers least confident in Asia, workplace a key reason

Females in Hong Kong are not as confident as their counterparts in Asia, with more than half of them believing that they will be more confident if they are given more opportunities to unleash their potential, according to Watsons' Women’s Confidence Survey in Asia. The survey was conducted with over 3,100 women aged 20 to 29 across six markets including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The respondents were asked to rate their confidence levels and what were the things that can help boost their confidence. The results unveiled that women’s confidence levels were lowest in Hong Kong, closely followed by Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Mainland China.

What do women want?

The survey further revealed that staying healthy inside out, as well as gaining recognition from co-workers, were key to helping women gain confidence. In Hong Kong, 52% of women believed that they would have been more confident if they had been given more opportunities to unleash their potential.

When it comes to the workplace, the results showed that almost half of the respondents did not feel satisfied with their career progression, with satisfaction levels being at the lowest in Hong Kong amongst all markets. Almost half of the respondents felt stressed in an unbalanced gender workplace and thought that gender equality was important in the workplace to make women feel good and comfortable. Over 30% did not have enough support from their companies.

The top support that they were looking for was mentoring support, seminars on stress management and career success, and networking events.

Moreover, 70% of the respondents were university graduates and 95% believed they were able to excel in their career, yet most women found it difficult to excel at work while taking care of a family, and 76% of them thought that it was a challenge to balance the two roles. “The findings show that an equitable, supportive and family friendly workplace is exactly what women need nowadays and we are keen to lead by example," said Malina Ngai, CEO of A.S. Watson (Asia & Europe).

She added, "With operations in 11 markets in Asia, women make up 77% of our 63,000 workforce. Therefore, it is Watsons’ ongoing commitment to creating a culture that makes everyone feel welcomed, valued, appreciated and encouraged to bring their whole selves to work, and each of them is given equal career development opportunity."

What does "beautiful" mean?

In another survey "What is Beautiful", more than 11,000 women aged under 45 in 12 markets across Asia and Europe were interviewed about how they valued things around them, and how they defined beautiful after going through the pandemic. Around 75% of women agreed that inner beauty had become more important than ever, especially in the Philippines (96%), followed by Malaysia (91%), Thailand (86%), Hong Kong (83%) and Taiwan (82%).

They also defined beauty as "taking care of your health inside out", followed by "feeling confident" and "feeling happy". Looking ahead, Watsons will launch "The New Beautiful" campaign to encourage women to empower themselves. Programmes will be rolled out across numerous Asian markets. In Hong Kong, the "Go Empower" online seminar will be hosted to inspire women’s confidence in building personal branding. Registration will start on 8 March to coincide with International Women’s Day.

Gender equality at Watsons

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE asked Ngai to tell what measures Watsons has done to promote gender equality. She said, "Our senior management team has a 50-50 split between men and women. We select leaders based on their capabilities and performance instead of gender."

Watsons has also formulated family-friendly policies to help female colleagues strike a balance between their work and family. "We are one of the very first companies to provide 14-week maternity leave in Hong Kong before it became statutory," Ngai added.

For new mothers, Watsons has set up lactation rooms with equipment at the office to provide a quiet space for breastfeeding support. There are also workshops provided by professional postnatal helpers, giving useful advice to new parents. Additionally, the company organised the "Kids Fun Day" for colleagues to bring their children to the office for gathering. They can also exchange parenting tips.

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