Held during the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, the Women Aces in Leadership panel event aimed to celebrate the achievements of women through discussions and personal stories surrounding mentorship and inclusion. As part of the Women’s Tennis Association 250 series, the tournament proved to be a perfect setting for a leadership event focused on challenges faced by women in their careers, whether in sports or business.

Prudential and the Women Aces in Leadership Event

Since 2014, Prudential has been the title sponsor of the Hong Kong Tennis Open. Since then, the company has worked to highlight the importance of diversity, equality, and inclusion in sports and business. As such, it organized this year’s Women Aces in Leadership event to advocate for resilience and achievement.

Major names in women’s tennis and women in finance and non-governmental sectors participated in the panel discussion, including four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. The event was focused on the ways in which young women could become leaders by sharing their own experiences while providing new and valuable insights.

A Theme of Resilience and Meaningful Change

Resilience was a core theme of the panel discussion, and Angel Ng’s speech explored how the challenges women face today require this attribute more than ever. As the regional CEO for Greater China, customer, and wealth at Prudential Group, she has firsthand experience understanding the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in addressing societal issues.

The Rising Stars Panel

Two panels were held during the Women Aces in Leadership event; each presented to an audience of more than 120 invited guests. The first was called “Rising Stars: Mentorship and Mental Resilience for Tomorrow’s Leaders,” and it followed Angel Ng’s theme.

“Wonder Woman Syndrome” was another topic of discussion in this first panel, something pointed out by Prudential Group’s managing director of the Strategic Business Group, Lilian Ng. “This is a pressure that a lot of women put on themselves,” she said. “But the Wonder Woman costume is very tight—you need to build your own costume.”

Building from this, Osaka explored her own growth surrounding mental resilience. “[I saw] mental resilience as a little unhealthy because you’re always told that showing emotions or any type of feeling is weak. I circle back to this all the time, but being a mom now, I’m very resilient.” She stated that she had learned mental resilience from her athletic training and was fortunate to have acquired it.

The Smashing It! DEI Panel

The second discussion, “Smashing It! Advancing DE&I on the Court and in the Workplace,” aimed to explore how diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts apply similarly in sports and business. Given these similarities, where can organizations and individuals create environments that empower women to excel?

One major topic of discussion was studies showing that women are interrupted more often than men during board meetings. These studies’ results reflect a bias toward men regarding perceived authority. The leaders on the panel not only addressed this issue but also provided examples of positive male leadership.

“As leaders in an organization, we need to be more observant and call out when seeing things that are not right,” Angel Ng said. 

In calling attention to the issue, she went on to recall how a male boss in her company helped her find a voice during a board meeting. Her experience led the other panelists to discuss where male leaders can become allies of women, challenging stereotypes and contributing to greater change.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are male or female, young or old, experienced or not. You need to have a very clear judgment of the rules of the game,” Angel Ng concluded.