Ctrip's female representation exceeds 50%, above average among Internet companies

According to a study by recruitment agency HiringSolved, female employees represent a 19.6 percent of total staff among the top 25 tech companies in Silicon Valley, in comparison, Ctrip's female representation exceeds 50%. Ctrip is ahead of the average technology companies in both China and Silicon Valley in promoting gender equality and will continue to create an encouraging environment for women to realize their potential in the workplace.

Women bring unique strengths to decision making

The WEPs, jointly established by UN Women and the United Nations Global Compact in 2010, consists of 7 principles to guide companies in promoting gender equality through internal and external CSR strategies. So far, CEOs from more than 1,200 companies worldwide have signed the CEO Statement of Support.

Both in China and the rest of the world, providing women with equal employment and career development opportunities is an essential part of advancing gender equality, said Ms. Julia Broussard during her inspection. She expressed her hope to see more companies in China follow Ctrip's lead in supporting WEPs.

As the largest online travel service provider in China and second largest in the world, Ctrip will join hands with other companies around the world to enhance women's quality of life and their social status. According to Ms. Jane Jie Sun, the first female CEO for Ctrip as well as for the main global online travel companies, 7 women are represented in Ctrip's senior positions, which include the COO and CFO. Women occupy nearly 50% of its mid-level management positions and 34% of its senior posts. Ctrip is dedicated to improving women's status in the workplace and continues to push equal opportunity in recruitment and "same work, same pay" practices.

The significant roles women play in the workplace is being increasingly acknowledged, while female CEOs in big companies are no longer rare these years. There are however still only 32 female CEOs on the Fortune 500 list in 2017, which means this is less than 6.4% of the biggest companies in the United States are run by women.

Ctrip is a long-time advocate of leadership development and morale building for women. The company regularly surveys its female employees about their work and life, and picks out common issues to be incorporated into on-job training courses. Executive forums are held to invite women executives to share their experiences to help female staff better plan their career and encourage more women to step forward, striving to become a women-friendly employer.

Provide women employees with workplace benefits

With the two-child policy now in force in China, the work-parenting balance has become a hard to ignore social topic. Ctrip is among the first companies to allow male and female employees to "bring their children to work" by setting up a nursery at its Shanghai headquarters to help its employees attend to their pre-kindergarten children between 1.5 and 3.5 years old.

Ctrip's workplace nursery model has been followed by other Internet companies, and endorsed by Shanghai's government and labor union, the latter counting this project among the first 12 licensed "employee and children work studio" pilots. This year this project has been made a community nursery project as part of Shanghai government's public welfare drive.

Besides the workplace nursery, Ctrip has provided its staff with other benefits, such as summer/winter vacation nursery classes, breastfeeding rooms, to help its employees better balance work, family and career development.

【Ctrip CEO Jane's Speech at the Signing Ceremony of WEPs】

Ms. Julia Broussard, Ms. Lin Jialei, distinguished guests:

Good afternoon! Once again, a warm welcome to the two visitors on behalf of UN Women here at Ctrip!

As a female CEO, I understand that women's mental health and happiness are closely connected not only to their families, but more so to their working environments. Therefore, Ctrip has always been dedicated to support women in their career developments.

Supported by data, our company is immensely popular among women employees. Although Ctrip is an internet corporate, 61% of our staff here is female, far exceeding our average peers in China and Silicon Valley. As far as I know, in 2016, the top 25 tech companies in Silicon Valley in the US have less than 20 percent female employees on average. At Ctrip, women occupy nearly 50% of its mid-level management positions and 34% of its senior posts; 7 executives, CEO, COO and CFO included, are all women.

These figures are a result of Ctrip's unrelenting effort to improve women's status in the workplace. Ctrip never allows gender-based barriers in recruitment and practices "same work, same pay". Our company selects and evaluates employees based on their capabilities, rather than their gender.

Ctrip is a long-time advocate of women leadership development and morale building. Our company regularly surveys its female employees about their work and life, and picks out common issues to be incorporated into on-job training courses. Executive forums are held to invite women executives to share their experiences to help female staff exhibit their leadership. I would tell them, "You can be like me if you work hard enough."

The significant role women play in Ctrip's corporate governance is being increasingly acknowledged. Higher investment returns on women-led projects show that women are more sensible decision makers and lead to higher returns on invested capital. Women are trustworthy and responsible. They are low-key and adept at risk control. They are more thoughtful than men. The delivery of all projects requires strong execution, in which women have a huge role to play.

At Ctrip, gender equality is not a slogan or a goal, but a fact -- something that developed naturally in our company. Any employee, regardless of their gender, can perform well in their work. What Ctrip focuses on is building a platform to provide more benefits to better satisfy its staff's needs. Our firm has made great improvements over the 18 years since its founding.

It is a great honor to represent Ctrip at the signing of the CEO Statement of Support for UN Women's WEPs. Under these seven principles, Ctrip will continue to promote gender equality inside and outside of the company. It's my hope that Ctrip can make its humble contribution to women's career development in China and the rest of the world!

[Further Reading] What do WEPs stand for?

"Women's Empowerment Principles" (WEPs), jointly established by UN Women and the United Nations Global Compact in 2010, consist of 7 principles to guide companies in promoting gender equality through internal and external CSR strategies:

1. Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality
2. Treat all women and men fairly at work - respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination
3. Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers
4. Promote education, training and professional development for women
5. Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women
6. Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy
7. Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality

SOURCE Ctrip.com International Ltd.