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Get to know Virginia Tan and the super achievers behind Women in Tech 2016 Event with Speaker Spotlight Series 

Virginia Tan is one of the 15 high-profile speakers presenting at Women in Tech 2016. She is the founder and managing director of Lean In China, a women’s platform with over 80,000 members across more than 25 cities and 50 universities in China. It supports the goals and aspirations of Chinese women.

She founded the Her Startup competition in 2015, the first global tech entrepreneurship competition for female founders, which held 12 rounds across China, USA and South East Asia in 2016. Virginia is also founding partner of Orenda Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund investing in technologies and startups emerging out of the Her Startup competition.

Why did you agree to speak at a women in tech event? What are your thoughts on the association with this theme/movement?

I think we should encourage more women to join the tech industry not just because we care about diversity from a “morally good” perspective, but because diversity is smart business. I believe that technology creates opportunities for women, whether as entrepreneurs, executives or consumers. Thus, women should leverage technology to solve global problems which the world faces (including many issues that women face in particular) and to create wealth, prosperity and social impact.

What is YOUR case for having more women in business?

Consumer perspective: The growing power of women consumers, especially online,  means that women are the ones shaping the ecommerce market – in China this was worth 74 billion USD in the first 3 months on 2016..

In 2013, over 60 percent of Chinese online consumers spent more than RMB 3,000 (US$483) on the internet, with the majority of them being female. In 2015, women accounted for 60 percent of the online shoppers who spent more than RMB 100,000 (US$16,1000) last year. Businesses who understand this and who can design and market products targeted at this demographic are bound to benefit.

This in turns creates opportunities for women entrepreneurs who understand the needs and tastes of women consumers.

Corporate perspective: From a company’s perspective, more women in leadership in simply smart economics. In May 2016, Bloomberg published a new gender diversity index which showcased performance data from the more than 1,000 companies in the Bloomberg World Equity Index. It found that the best performing companies—based on two-year stock performance—were the ones with the highest ratio of female executives. Therefore the business case for more women in business and in leadership should be that this drives performance of a company.

Would you say that the movement needs to be different from its progress in the US? Should our approach be different across Southeast Asia?

Data from a nationwide survey that Lean In China did in 2016 shows that the top 3 challenges for women in the workplace were all linked to family – work life balance, supporting the career of their spouse or partner, disruption caused by maternity. These were then followed by discrimination, lack of networks, lack of guidance, lack of confidence. and right at the bottom, the lack of ability.

Currently, most measures targeting women in the workplace and increasing diversity are aimed at overcoming the latter challenges and not addressing the challenges that women face in balancing their family and work responsibilities.

In Asia, in my opinion, a key battleplace for women is in the home and culture plays a big role in dictating and imposing certain gender roles for both men and women. I think the situation in each country in South East Asia is slightly different, and gender roles for women can be influenced by different local factors, such as religion, laws, etc. However I think one commonality in terms of approach is in engaging men both in the workplace and in the home, and companies and institutions in seeing diversity as being good for everyone, in both an economic and social sense, and not just women, and encouraging and rewarding actors who promote diversity.

What’s next for you in your career in tech?

Building Her Startup into a truly global competition to create a platform for women led businesses as well as businesses which impact women positively. This year – we held 12 rounds globally – 6 in China, 2 in South East Asia and 4 in the USA. Next year we hope to add more rounds across Asia, and maybe in Europe.

I am also working on building up a fund to invest in some of the companies which come out of the Her Startup competition which impact women positively.

What is one defining character trait / skillset you believe made you who you are today?

I never give up – I believe there’s always a way and I believe in working with others as partners and treating others with respect and dignity.

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Special offer for e27 readers: Use the promo code SLUSH16WOMEN to enjoy 25% off from Slush Singapore tickets and access to Women in Tech.

Women in Tech debuts in Singapore as a partner event of Slush Singapore & Techventure on 21st September in Sentosa. It will showcase top leaders of VCs, MNCs, policy makers, innovators and founders in tech. The mission is to bring out female role models in tech, and to show diversity as a business case for tech industry, rather than a gender case, all in the name of making technology better.

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