Marriott International has announced the company’s “Women in Leadership” Asia Pacific Conference. Hosted at the Renaissance Shanghai Zhongshan Park Hotel, the three-day conference will bring together more than 75 Marriott female executives from across Asia Pacific to network, share their career success insights and learn about growth and development opportunities throughout the region.
The conference also marks the 15th anniversary of the Marriott Women’s Leadership Initiative, which was created to provide career development opportunities for women throughout the company worldwide.
“The objective of this conference is to recognize the growing importance of women executives in our company as well as the entire industry. Marriott International is committed to support our women associates and help them grow personally and professionally,” said Simon Cooper, President & Managing Director – Asia Pacific, Marriott International.
“I’m proud of the fact that Marriott International has made supporting women in leadership a priority. Across Asia Pacific, we are seeing the business community recognizing and rewarding the talent and expertise women bring to the workplace. There is still progress to be made and our goal is to increase our ranks of female executives by 15 percent over the next two years,” he said.
Wide-ranging issues addressed include: ‘Defining the Role of Women in Organizations’ presented by Peggy Fang Roe, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Asia Pacific; ‘Developing & Inspiring Our Young Women’, presented by Yibing Mao, General Counsel & Senior Vice President Asset Management, Asia Pacific; ‘Finding Balance in Work & Life’ presented by Lynda Aurora, Partner – Executive Performance Coach; and various colorful career stories of select participants.
The Conference will also focus on topics such as: Working with Diversity – Race, Culture & Gender; Building Your Presence and Leadership Brand; The Art of Networking & Influencing; Financial Acumen & Owner Relations; and Coping with Challenging and Changing Business Pressures.
Globally, women represent 52 percent of Marriott International’s workforce – which totaled some 200,000 in 2013. The percentage of women taking up senior positions is gradually increasing in Asia as 13% of its hotel general managers are women. The growing influence of women executives is even more prominent in Greater China, arguably the fastest growing market of Marriott International worldwide, with 12 women hotel general managers from a total of 74 – the highest percentage in the region.
In Asia Pacific, Marriott’s training programs for leaders correspondingly feature a growing percentage of women – representing 23% of the Asia General Manager Elevate Program, 28% of the Asia Executive Development Program, 24% of the Global Executive Development Program, and 41% of the newly launched Global Professional Leadership Program. Marriott International operates over 160 hotels across 12 countries in Asia – and expects to open a new hotel in Asia on average just about every week over the next 3 years.
Creating opportunities for all of its associates is deeply rooted in the Marriott International’s culture which was established by the company’s founders, J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott in 1927.
“Embracing diversity and creating opportunities is how we do business around the world and is essential to our success,” added Cooper. “Marriott international prides itself on being among the most welcoming and inclusive companies to work for – regardless of cultural background, gender or race,” Cooper said.
