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FTW x Fortune 500 Executives x Tech Founders 'Roundtable Forum' | Technology Empowering Women's Health in the Workplace, Reshaping a New Future of Workplace Equality

2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a milestone event signifying a crucial stage in global efforts to promote gender equality and women's empowerment. Against this backdrop, UN Women has set this year's International Women's Day theme as "For All Women and Girls: Rights, Equality, Empowerment," aiming to further build consensus and mobilize concrete actions to advance women's rights and gender equality.

Over these thirty years, women's participation in the workplace has increased by 27%, but UN data shows that the gender pay gap remains high at 18%, and women account for less than 25% of decision-making positions in key fields such as technology and finance.

At the roundtable conference hosted by Femtech Weekend, together with corporate executives from Microsoft, Barclays Bank UK, and tech entrepreneurial leaders from Silicon Valley and Singapore, we explored: How can we use technology to break through workplace ceilings, empower women's health in the workplace, and build a truly equal ecosystem?

Roundtable Guest Introductions​

01 Roundtable Highlights​

FEMTECH WEEKEND​

Diversity and Inclusion: Building a Workplace Ecosystem Supporting Women's Development​

"We're not fighting for special privileges for women, but creating a workplace where everyone can freely flourish. When technology truly understands women's cyclical needs, when leaders' decisions are no longer swayed by unconscious bias, equality will transform from a slogan into a quantifiable progress curve."

  • Ms. Miu Jin, Partner Group Manager and Senior Engineering Director of SharePoint Experience Team at Microsoft

Ms. Miu Jin, as a career woman rooted in the technology industry, what unique challenges do you think women face in the technology industry?

Ms. Miu Jin (Microsoft Engineering Director): The proportion of women in the technology industry remains low, which means they need to put in more effort to gain the same recognition as men. Health issues under high pressure, guilt towards family, and the "invisible ceiling" in the workplace are all obstacles women need to overcome.

However, it's encouraging that more and more companies are beginning to recognize the importance of an inclusive culture and are working to break these barriers through policy support.

As a Microsoft employee, can you share some of Microsoft's policies supporting women's career development?

Ms. Miu Jin (Microsoft Engineering Director): Microsoft advocates for an efficient work culture rather than "996" overtime, offering parental leave, mental health support programs, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and gym facilities. These measures not only help employees balance work and life but also make women feel respected and supported.

Breaking Through and Reshaping: Dubai Observations - Empowering Women to Break the Workplace Ceiling​

"Empowering women not only illuminates individual paths forward but also drives society forward as a whole. I firmly believe that investing in women is not just a moral obligation but the key to unleashing transformative growth—companies led by women show a return on investment (ROI) 25% higher than the industry average."

  • Shati, Vice President of Market Risk Control at Barclays Investment Bank, UN Women UK Representative

Shati, you left the UK to work in Dubai and have been involved in different Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) providing guidance. How do you think these groups make the work environment healthier? And are there differences between the female work environments in the UK and Dubai?

Shati Hossain (Global Investment Bank Vice President): ERGs create a sense of psychological safety and belonging for employees, especially in the hybrid working era. By sharing skills, establishing role models, and promoting diverse dialogues, ERGs become an important force in driving workplace culture change.

Compared to the UK, Dubai still has room for improvement in gender balance, but the rise of female leadership is already showing initial results. Now the UAE government has issued a new regulation: there must be at least one woman on the board of directors of Dubai companies.

The UK has been heavily investing in women. Why do you think investing in women benefits society as a whole?

Shati Hossain (Global Investment Bank Vice President): Investing in women is not just a moral responsibility but key to economic development. Data shows that supporting women's employment can create 30,000 jobs, narrow the GDP gap by 20% by 2025, and break the cycle of poverty.

Healthy women are the cornerstone of a healthy society; this is a win-win transformation.

Gen Z Women's Expectations for Workplace Culture - Is Mental Health a Must?​

"A healthy workplace isn't a benefit, it's the baseline set by Gen Z. And my value isn't measured by overtime hours, but defined by the life I design. Women's health is multidimensional—reproductive health is important, but mental health support is indispensable. LinkedIn data shows 70% of Gen Z prioritize companies that support mental health."

  • Livia, Founder of a Women's Health Community in Silicon Valley, USA

Gen Z already makes up 20% of the workforce. As a Gen Z woman, what new expectations do you have for the workplace?

Livia Han (Compass Co-founder): When choosing a workplace, Gen Z increasingly values whether companies can provide mental health resources, stress leave, and reproductive health support. We expect employers to cover mental health treatment to help maintain psychological well-being.

At the same time, Gen Z places more emphasis on achieving balance between work, physical condition, and personal life, hoping that companies can provide flexible work arrangements when facing pressure or special situations like menstruation.

In addition, we also expect companies to provide comprehensive physiological health and reproductive health protection, such as egg freezing benefits, assisted reproduction, and family clinics. These initiatives not only meet the special needs of female employees but also help women achieve better balance in the workplace.

Using Technology Platforms to Connect Employees and Employers, Driving Workplace Culture Change​

"In business operations, quantitative indicators like KPIs and OKRs drive business decisions, but employee health and well-being have long lacked measurable value anchors. Health is not a cost but a strategic investment with clear ROI. We need to reconstruct the narrative with data: when Harvard Business School confirms that every $1 invested in mental health programs can bring $4 in productivity returns, employee well-being becomes the most rational business choice."

  • Sharon Li, Co-founder of CHOYS, an InsurTech company in Singapore

Sharon, how does CHOYS as a digital platform empower employees and return economic benefits to employers? How do you influence employers who are unwilling to invest in employee well-being and health?

Sharon Li (CHOYS Co-founder): Employers typically view employee well-being and health as an additional cost. But by improving employee health and happiness, productivity can be increased and employee turnover reduced, bringing significant economic benefits.

The CHOYS platform can provide personalized benefit solutions based on employees' individual needs, including mental health support, medical insurance, rewards, and recognition programs. This personalized approach better meets employees' actual needs, enhancing their happiness and satisfaction.

Additionally, CHOYS helps employers better understand employee benefit needs through data analysis, optimizing benefit plans, avoiding resource waste, and reducing overall benefit costs. Investing in employee well-being and health not only brings economic benefits but also better social reputation and customer trust.

02 A Promising Future​

FEMTECH WEEKEND​

In this roundtable forum, Fortune 500 executives and entrepreneurial leaders discussed how to use Female Health Technology (FemTech) to promote workplace equality. Technology is not just a tool but a key force in narrowing the gender health gap—from menstrual health management, fertility support to menopause care, technology is redefining women's workplace competitiveness throughout their lifecycle.

Companies must recognize that: investing in female health technology = investing in organizational resilience. McKinsey research shows that employers providing health tech support see a 34% increase in female employee retention.

As the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation emphasizes: "Companies unable to measure women's health needs are essentially still managing 21st-century workforce with 20th-century tools."

The technological answer is clear: the future of gender equality must be built on the foundation of digitalized women's health.

FemTech Weekend Strategic Cooperation and Co-creation Community Partners​

C2C Startups is a leading cross-border science and innovation accelerator dedicated to building a global entrepreneurial community, deeply exploring and cultivating innovation and venture capital talent, and providing precise early-stage incubation and comprehensive cross-border science and innovation services for startups. Since its establishment, C2C Startups has reached strategic cooperation with entrepreneurial ecosystem partners from more than 10 countries and regions worldwide and has successfully served nearly 100 domestic and overseas technology startups.

C2C Startups always works closely with entrepreneurs from different regions and cultural backgrounds, aiming to help build the next generation of technology companies with global influence starting from entrepreneurial ideas.

FemTech China is a public welfare platform promoting FemTech (Female Health Technology), aiming to use media publicity and other means to promote cutting-edge technology empowering women's health, and is committed to becoming a bridge connecting global FemTech quality products and services with Chinese women. Its headquarters is located in Ireland, the Silicon Valley of Western Europe.

She Rewires focuses on women's development in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM). She Rewires is dedicated to igniting and reshaping women's passion for and development in STEAM. She Rewires starts from China and connects globally. As China's most active community of women in technology, it presents a new and vibrant image of Chinese women in technology.

She Rewires' vision is to shape a sustainable STEAM future for all. Not only embracing changes with the times but also envisioning a more inclusive, diverse, and innovative future built by women and their allies, allowing everyone to become pioneers in their respective fields.

She Rewires has been jointly created by more than 130 volunteer co-builders in 16 cities and connects over 70,000 members globally.

// Who is FemTech Weekend?​

FemTech Weekend is China's first organization focusing on women's health technology challenges, dedicated to widely spreading advanced FemTech concepts, inspiring attention and participation from all sectors of society in the development of women's health technology, and jointly promoting progress and innovation in China's women's health technology field. This public account is committed to sharing FemTech products, research, and investment and financing information, promoting the development and exchange of the female health technology ecosystem in China.

We have also established extensive connection networks with FemTech ecosystems in multiple countries and regions globally, helping each participant grasp industry dynamics and achieve value co-creation.