| My professional career got off to a late start. I started my family before I began to focus on my career, and by the time I joined the accounting profession in 1988, my daughter was already two years old. At the time, I believe I was the only female staff member who hailed from mainland China to be hired by Arthur Young, one of the Big Eight accounting firms, in its San Francisco office. I had come from a completely different culture and country, one that for the past few decades had been an entirely closed society, and it was tough for me to immerse myself in a foreign environment that was not only entirely Western, but also highly competitive and demanding. In addition to learning the professional skills and language required by my job, I also needed to overcome cultural differences and communication barriers, whilst trying to balance my work and family life. All the while, I was competing with younger colleagues who did not have the same challenges as me. Becoming a partner in the firm did not even feature in my wildest dreams.
When my son was born, I took two years off and used the time to raise my two children. In the summer of 1995, I moved back to China as the only female manager in the Arthur Andersen Shanghai office. In 2000, I became the Shanghai office’s first female partner, and again found myself to be much older than most of my peers.
Looking back, my personal experience has led me to believe that despite whatever obstacles one encounters in life, setting goals and having the willpower and determination to follow through on those goals, will lead one to success. I have also learned that women and men are, in fact, different. The reality is that many women will have different priorities during different stages of their lives than men—be it starting a family or building a career—but those changing goals need not deter women from pursuing opportunities that can lead to professional success and leadership. I have been on both sides of the fence, and I can tell you with certainty that anything is possible. It sounds clichéd, but it’s true: only you have the power to determine what you want to achieve in life.
Helping women to succeed in China
In China, there are few gender-related issues at the junior staff level. 65% of our junior staff members are women. However, the percentage decreases dramatically at the manager and partner level, falling to 33% of women at the director level and 24% at the partner level. Many female managers have told me that the many reasons why female employees decide to leave the firm include: a lack of flexible programmes which help women balance work and family, few role models and personal mentors who can take the time to truly understand female challenges and help women advance in their careers, and the changing perspectives and values of the “digital” generation.
We need to understand these underlying reasons and address these issues. We as a firm need to explore ways and possibilities to give our female employees more opportunities to advance their professional careers within the firm. We need to build support programmes and provide role models and mentors to help our female colleagues overcome the obstacles in their life and to succeed.
Overcoming obstacles on the road to success
My advice to my female colleagues in China and Asia is to first believe that giving up is not an option. Continue to seek the solutions and inspiration you need to succeed. Success is not measured so much by what accomplishments you have reached in life and when you have reached them; it is measured more by what obstacles you have overcome on that road to success. Success is about believing in yourself and not being afraid of hard work and the difficulties you might face. Understand that the road to success will be long and hard, but be persistent and enjoy the journey. It’s worth it.
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Nora Wu joined PwC in 2002 as a tax partner when PwC merged with Arthur Andersen in Hong Kong and China. She has been the Lead Partner for Shanghai PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) since March 2006 and oversees the business of the PwC Shanghai office across all business units. The Shanghai office is one of the largest offices in mainland China, housing a total of 2,400 professional staff members including 90 partners. PwC provides comprehensive and industry-focused professional services including assurance, advisory and tax services to our clients in China.
Nora also chairs the Culture Committee and is in charge of Corporate Responsibility for PwC China, Hong Kong and Singapore. She was named a member of the Gender Advisory Council in July 2008.
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