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EOC’s Racial Diversity & Inclusion Charter Certificate Ceremony

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Ceremony of EOC’s Racial Diversity & Inclusion Charter for Employers on 29 March 2019

photo of Ceremony

Since its launch on 6 December 2018, the Racial Diversity & Inclusion Charter has seen encouraging response from organisations across different sectors. Starting with 11 signatory organisations in December, the EOC was happy to welcome 34 new signatories in March 2019. In order to acknowledge and announce these new signatories the EOC held a second Charter ceremony on 29 March 2019, that saw these companies pledge to establish a diverse and inclusive workplace by adopting the Charter. Thanks to the support of HSBC, one of our founding signatories, the event was held at Level 20 of the HSBC main office. Around 200 participants including corporate staff, NGOs, academics and others attended the ceremony.

Chief guest, Mr. Andy CHAN, Under Secretary of Constitutional and Mainland Affairs addressing the audience

Chief guest, Mr. Andy CHAN, Under Secretary of Constitutional and Mainland Affairs addressing the audience

In recognition of the importance of this subject for government, the chief guest, Mr. Andy Chan, Under Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs, addressed the audience and outlined the efforts of the government towards employment issues of the ethnic minorities. He congratulated the companies signing the Charter and hoped more would join.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Allan Zeman, Chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group, stressed the inherent equality of all people and the fact that inequalities or unfair treatment based on race have no place in Hong Kong. He stressed that companies should find and retain the right talent, regardless of race, gender and other factors and endorsed his support for the Charter.

Keynote speaker, Dr Allan ZEMAN, Chairman, Lan Kwai Fong Group sharing his views on racial diversity and inclusion with the audience

Keynote speaker, Dr Allan ZEMAN, Chairman, Lan Kwai Fong Group sharing his views on racial diversity and inclusion with the audience


Two panel discussions on the topic “Racially Diverse Talent: A Business Advantage?” saw keen insights and experiences shared by panelists. While the first panel was made up of young ethnic minority professionals/students, the second panel was composed of senior executives from some of the signatory companies. A lively exchange between the moderator and panelists was followed by an audience Q&A. The young professionals impressed the audience with their talent, maturity and in some cases, their Chinese language skills. They also made the point clearly about being a vital resource pool for Hong Kong that should not be ignored by employers. The senior executives in turn acknowledged the importance of having a diverse workforce and how their organizations made an effort to provide an inclusive workplace.

Marie Chow, Otis Hong Kong; Fern Ngai, Community Business; Selina Ko, Manulife HK and Rajnish Kapur, Walgreens Boots Alliance speaking to Raymond Ho of EOC during the panel discussion.

Marie Chow, Otis Hong Kong; Fern Ngai, Community Business; Selina Ko, Manulife HK and Rajnish Kapur, Walgreens Boots Alliance speaking to Raymond Ho of EOC during the panel discussion.

Club Thapa, Kristine Sage, Bakar Fariha Salma Deiya and Sandeep Singh speaking to Zoher Abdoolcarim during the panel discussion.

Club Thapa, Kristine Sage, Bakar Fariha Salma Deiya and Sandeep Singh speaking to Zoher Abdoolcarim during the panel discussion.

In her closing remarks, Ms Helen WONG, Chief Executive, Greater China, HSBC expressed pride in among the first companies to sign the Charter. She added that a diverse workforce made good business sense because it enabled the company access to a wider pool of talent and better understand the diverse needs of the community it served.

Helen Wong, Group General Manager and CEO for Greater China, HSBC giving the closing remarks.

Helen Wong, Group General Manager and CEO for Greater China, HSBC giving the closing remarks.

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