I am a Partner at Allen & Overy, an international law firm, with 44 offices around the world. I have worked in four of those offices, including London, Shanghai, Singapore and Johannesburg. I advise on cross-border banking and finance transactions, representing lenders and borrowers in diverse industries. I was born in Montreal, Canada, where my great-grandparents emigrated to from China. I completed a Bachelor of Laws at the Université de Montréal in Canada and a Master of Laws at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK. I speak fluent French and three dialects of Chinese, including Mandarin, Cantonese and the Hoisan dialect.
As a general trend, there are more women than men studying law and entering the legal profession, but a key challenge is retaining those women and giving them the opportunity to develop and advance to senior leadership positions, whether it’s in private practice or in-house.
I don’t think it’s a question of women versus men. It’s about diversity. Having more women in the legal industry brings diversity to the way we think, which triggers innovation and creativity. It just makes sense to have more women in law - it reflects the communities that we serve.
Anti-discrimination and equal pay legislation. When it is enshrined in the law that a woman can do the same job as a man and should be paid the same for it, it sets the basic platform from which women can launch their careers and reach their full potential.
During the last 15 years, I have noticed more and more women sitting at the boardroom table, whether that boardroom is in London, Shanghai or Johannesburg. The differences that I have experienced in working around the world are not gender-related but cultural. As a native Canadian of Chinese descent, it was interesting for me to live and work in China for three years. I learned some valuable skills on how to do business in China but I also learned a lot about myself.
You can do it. Stay focused. Be nimble. If you hit against a wall, find a new way to climb it.
