Joy Xu, Chief Human Resources Officer, Manulife Asia, says internship opportunities for younger talent need to be representative of the diversity of the current talent pool.
Finding the right fit is important for everyone when starting out in their career. The challenge is even greater for those who are marginalised due to their identity, ability, and socio-economic background.
Here in Hong Kong, businesses agreed that despite being aware of local laws, such as the Race Discrimination Ordinance, racial minority candidates were still unlikely to be hired, in most cases due to their backgrounds, according to a report released by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).
At Manulife, we are taking action on this by ensuring our summer internship programs—a key conduit to attract young talent—reflect our markets’ diversity.
Creating equal opportunities
According to the EOC’s “Closing the Gap” Report, rating pupils based solely on their academic achievement or elite school status is commonplace in Hong Kong. Non-Chinese speaking students, particularly those from lower-income households, are frequently disadvantaged. This is a large as well as significant problem, with ethnic minorities making up 8% of the city’s residents, or over 584,383 people. How can we ensure that all students are getting a fair chance and an equal opportunity?
Businesses are in a privileged position to help. When we model good work and advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices, we not only help individuals directly but inspire others in the community to take action.
One important action businesses can take lies in DEI-oriented micro-internships. Micro-internships, in essence, are local, short-term job placements that can include project-specific work and ‘job shadowing’. With a DEI element, these internships specifically target marginalised groups, providing them with real-world opportunities to learn about firms they would not have explored and create contacts with business leaders who mirror their own identity.
Attracting young, diverse talent
At Manulife, we welcomed our first batch of Diversity Champion interns last year. The interns shared with us their lack of role models at work and even within their social circles. It was clear that they wanted to acquire hands-on experience and learn from business leaders.
They are part of a generation that connects and mobilises around causes and interests, evidenced by who they want to see lead and who they want to empower. If businesses want to recruit emerging talent, they must improve their capacity to locate, attract, assess, and hire individuals that represent diverse perspectives and communities.
Starting small, going big
With a rich blend of cultures and ethnicities, diversity is an innate part of Asia – and indeed of Manulife. Having operated continuously in the region for over 125 years and now serving more than 13 million customers here, our company is largely defined by its Asia presence. This reinforces our commitment and that progress towards a more equitable and inclusive future requires us to become full DEI partners, advocates, and allies. We are therefore intensifying our ambition around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Interns who have joined our ‘Diversity Champion Internship Program’ in Hong Kong, in collaboration with Hyatt and Herbert Smith Freehills, have told us how beneficial the program is to them in gaining experience, confidence, and contacts, as they start out in their careers. Later this year, we will extend the program to Singapore, and we have plans to roll it out further to Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia. I would like to encourage more organisations to be like-minded allies, so we can collectively work together to build workplaces where everyone can thrive.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
