As we come to the end of 2022, it is fitting that we take a moment to pause and reflect on where we have been able to make impact, together, to improve the lives of women and girls in Hong Kong.

Here are five highlights:

Amplifying community care in challenging times: At the height of the 5th wave of COVID-19, in collaboration with our school and community partners, we served over 4,500 underprivileged families with 45,000 rapid antigen tests. Our 41 school and NGO partners represented a broad cross-section of the rich diversity in Hong Kong and the many groups of marginalised women and families that were particularly vulnerable over this period, including ethnic minorities, those with disabilities, single parents, the elderly, students, and many of our underprivileged programme participants. We also expanded our #TEENforGood initiative to 25 pairs with our T.E.E.N. Programme alumni supporting the learning needs of unprivileged students at risk of falling behind academically due to the pandemic.

Growing the pipeline of women in STEM: This year, the Girls Go Tech (GGT) Programme passed significant milestones in continuing to support the pipeline of young women, particularly from underserved communities, being able to acquire skills, confidence and knowledge around STEM for the jobs of the future. Now with over 1,000 participants the GGT Programme added a work shadowing element to its career hub, hosted a video tutorial competition and launched a scholarship scheme to provide financial assistance to GGT participants who are interested in pursuing a STEM degree at a Hong Kong university.

Spreading the message of gender equality in new spaces: We were thrilled to launch our first ever NFT project, created in collaboration with Hanson Robotics’ AI Robot Sophia, the world’s first robot citizen, and Hong Kong artist Sophia Hotung. The NFT project, “Future Values: Imagining Digital Gender Equality”, aimed to encourage greater diversity and inclusivity within the tech and crypto industries, as well as promote greater gender equality through technology.

Male Allies reflective and active leadership journey: Now in its 5th cycle, TWF’s Male Allies has evolved and streamlined its Influencer Circles, Deep Dives and other events to support Allies on a three-part leadership journey: “Empower Me, Empower Others, Empower Change”. This enables Male Allies to first understand their own privilege and gender-specific challenges, learn about issues facing other populations and how to actively support them, and then how to apply their learnings to enact change at a broader company / policy level. We are incredibly proud of the deep reflective work and commitment that Male Allies are engaging in to contribute towards creating more gender equal workplaces and communities.

Examining female burnout: Now in its second cycle, our Gender Equality & Inclusion Work Group comprising Advocate-level corporate partners, is tackling the deep-seated issue of female burnout in the workplace. Drawing connections between microaggressions, visibility, non-promotable work and caregiving responsibilities and their contributions towards female burnout, we hope members will be equipped with the knowledge and best practice exchange that will enable collaboration and action to effectively tackle this issue.

This is just a small snapshot of the broad range of work we have been able to accomplish in 2022. None of our achievements would have been possible without the commitment, talent and generosity of our diverse community of partners, donors, and supporters. Our heartfelt thanks to each of you.

With your continued commitment and support, we stand on new ground to tackle deep rooted issues of inequality, and to create the gender equal future our city deserves. We look forward for all we will accomplish together in 2023.

Get in touch at Fiona.Nott@twfhk.org.

PS: Connect will be going on winter break and will return on January 11, 2022. Warmest wishes from all of us at TWF for a happy, healthy holiday season!