Women's empowerment and development take center stage at Chinese consulate event in New York

A panel of women from different backgrounds gathered at the Chinese consulate in New York City on Monday to discuss women's empowerment, work life balance and the current state of gender relations worldwide alongside Chen Li, consul general of the People's Republic of China in New York.

The event, dubbed "Honoring Her Strength, Supporting Her Dreams" was held in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations and the 30th anniversary of China's Fourth World Conference on Women, which was crucial for gender equality.

Featured guest speakers included Jessica Bissett, senior director, government engagement for the National Committee on United States-China Relations; Belinda Robinson, a journalist for China Daily newspaper; and Zhongjing Fang, a ballerina and choreographer for American Ballet Theatre.

A short video showed the tremendous progress made in women's equality in China and the work still to be done.

"We've hosted many events here in this hall, but a woman-focused one, this might be a first," Li said in his introductory speech. "Thirty years ago, China hosted the Fourth World Conference on Women, which adopted the landmark declaration, and that call for action made gender equality an agenda of the times."

He added: "Last week, China held the Global Leaders Meeting on Women in Beijing where President Xi Jinping proposed new measures to promote women's all-round development. There couldn't be a better time to bring together inspiring women leaders from our consulate district to explore how women's causes are advancing in both China and the United States."

The panel, led by a moderator, tackled a myriad of topics and spoke of the progress, challenges and growth they had personally experienced. Two recalled how their industries had been very male-dominated when they began, but they'd later seen more women break through. They also highlighted the value of female mentorship in their lives.

"In the early years of my career, the giants in the field were all older white men, which is fine. At the time, the China specialists, who are today in their 80s, started out in their fields in the 1960s, a different time," Bisset said.

"The women's liberation movement was just starting. But I can heavily report that as I've gone through my career, I've seen more and more women rise in terms of academia in US-China relations and also leadership positions.

"I'm very lucky within my own career. The vice-president of the National Committee is a woman named Jan Berris, who's been at the National Committee for over 50 years. I call her the first lady of US-China relations. So, I had an amazing mentor in her," she said.

"Women supporting women is wonderful because it enhances your career and your life and it's something that I take great pleasure participating in. I think that it's so important for women to have mentors and to have goals and to dream as big as they can," Robinson said.

Fang, who began ballet dancing at the tender age of 9, described her brave, solo, journey to the United States after receiving an offer from American Ballet Theatre to join the company.

"When I turned 18, I came to America by myself," she told the audience. "At the time, I didn't speak any (English), with two suitcases, just myself and full of dreams. Fast forward now, 20-something years later, I'm a soloist with American Ballet Theatre and I have a beautiful family and I just had my second daughter.

"And, coming back to the center of this theme tonight, so many mentors and so many women in my life have paved the way. If it wasn't for those women, I wouldn't be here today. I continue to grow as a mentor, a mother and a wife and a daughter to continue to help the people around me, help the younger generation and help my daughters to grow."

Last week, Xi focused on women's development at the Global Leaders Meeting, which was attended by numerous leaders and representatives from across the world.

He pledged $10 million to UN women and earmarked a further $100 million for projects for women and girls from China's Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund dedicated to projects for women and girls.

The event in New York drew a diverse crowd of mainly women, keen to hear how the US and China were propelling women forward.

Ashley Brown, director of the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York and a member of the audience, praised the event for bringing women's key issues to the fore.

"I think [we need] more women conferences, more opportunities for women to come together, more opportunities for women to find camaraderie, to support each other.

"I very much believe in women empowerment," she added. "I think it's so important that women support each other, that we find strength and courage in ourselves, and we help empower each other and the next generation."

Jessica Chen, a lawyer and an audience member, told China Daily: "I have different positions with the New York State Bar Association and I'm very active with all the bar activities. A lot of the times when I've entered into a forum, it is male dominated.

"Sometimes when I enter the room, it's like, ‘oh, I'm the only Asian, or, I'm the only female, or, I'm the only Chinese.' Originally, I felt like, ‘that's a little weird, but later on, I feel like I'm proud of it. I think it's a privilege and I can send out my voice because my voice matters …We girls are capable, if not more capable than men. So, dream big!"