15 February, 2018
HKIAC is pleased to announce the launch of Women In Arbitration (WIA), an initiative committed to the promotion and success of female practitioners in international arbitration and related practice areas in China. WIA will provide a forum for members to consider and discuss current topics, grow networks and business relationships, and develop the next generation of leading female practitioners.
Dr Ling Yang, HKIAC Deputy Secretary-General and Chief Representative of HKIAC’s Shanghai office, is behind the initiative having noticed: “the absence of groups dedicated to the interests of female practitioners in what is otherwise a thriving arbitration community in Mainland China”.
The inaugural WIA event will take place on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2018, in Shanghai and will bring together female professionals from diverse backgrounds to share their insights on the professional development of women in the legal industry.
The launch of the WIA initiative is one of several important steps HKIAC has taken to improve the representation of women in arbitration since signing the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge (Pledge) in October 2016. HKIAC has also shown a significant improvement in the number of female arbitrators it has appointed since signing the Pledge (i.e., 16.5% of appointments made in 2017 compared to 6.7% in 2016 and 7.1% in 2015), and is enhancing gender diversity on its Panel and List of Arbitrators by increasing the presence of female arbitrators from 9.8% in 2016 to 17% in 2017. HKIAC will continue its efforts to increase the visibility of women in the field of arbitration.
If you are interested in hearing more, please click here to receive regular updates on WIA activities.
