SOHO's Zhang Xin on the cover

This article is by Bruce Humes, a bilingual media consultant and Chinese-to-English literary translator who can be reached at xumushi@yahoo.com.

Business Watch Magazine (商务周刊) recently rolled out its list of "The 25 Most Powerful Women in Business" (March 20, 2008 issue). A quick look at the backgrounds of these corporate warriors can tell us a thing or two about how China’s media perceives the female manager.

The English-language contents page sets the tone. Headlines to the individual bios include "Charming Woman", "Party-girl to Businesswoman", "Dragon Girl" and "Steel Princess".

And just how did these 25 women qualify for recognition by Business Watch Magazine? The introductory piece rattles on about the relationship between the female sex, the right lobe of the brain and a woman’s aptitude for "tempering firmness with tenderness" (刚柔并济). Unfortunately the editors have neglected to tell us which, if any, concrete standards were used to assess the candidates.

Occupying a very senior position in a multinational like AMD (Greater China CEO Guo Kezun), or a heavyweight China firm like Hisense Group (COO Yu Shumin), is clearly a requirement. A senior role in the IT, telecoms, real estate or venture capital industries doesn’t hurt. A handful was born with silver spoons in their mouths, and it helps to have been previously ranked by an authoritative publication in the West like Forbes.

Significantly, most of these success-driven managers share certain experiences—ones that would once have brought charges of being "politically incorrect"—that now make them over-achievers in the business world. By my count, two-thirds of them were educated in the USA or the UK, grew up in Taiwan or Hong Kong, or at least cut their teeth on business in the former British colony.

As a long-time (but now former) consultant to the publishers of two of China’s leading management monthlies, Chief Executive China (世界经理人) and Manager (经理人), I’ve been privy to editors’ debates on topics to report and talking heads to feature (or not feature) on the cover. I was told in the late 1990s, for instance, that women didn’t make good cover shots because they were often not very, uh, photogenic.

Nor will I forget just a few years ago when I suggested investigating sexual harassment in the workplace for our readers. The answer: "That’s a problem in the West, not here in China."

Business Watch Magazine’s feature is, predictably, akin to hagiography. No pithy quotes about the glass ceiling here or dealing with male chauvinist types on the way up. That’s not to say that reporters didn’t pose any gender-related questions to these rising stars. But their reactions imply that such questions are somehow less than kosher.

"How do you view the similarities and differences between male and female, in terms of management?" asked reporter Yuan Ying.

"In my view,” replied Amy Yip, CEO at DBS Bank Hong Kong, "in and of itself, that sort of comparison has a 'politically incorrect' air to it."

The list of the top 25 businesswomen and a link to the Chinese language article are below.

25 Chinese business women to watch

1. Ma Xuezheng (马雪征): Managing director and partner of Texas Pacific Group (TPG), Non Executive Vice Chairman and Non executive director of Lenovo Group Ltd.
2. Zhou Kaixuan (周凯旋): Director of Li Ka-shing Foundation
3. Sun Yafang (孙亚芳): Chairwoman of the board of Huawei Technologies
4. Yang Mianmian (杨绵绵): President of Haier Group
5. Yu Shumin (于淑珉): President and chief executive officer of Hisense Group
6. Guo Kezun (郭可尊): Senior vice-chairman of AMD global and president of AMD China
7. Wang Xuehong (王雪红): Chairwoman of the board in VIA Technologies, Inc
8. Zhang Yin (张茵): Chairwoman of Jiu Long Paper
9. Sun Wei (孙玮): CEO of Morgan Stanley China
10. Ren Keying (任克英 or Margaret Ren): Chairwoman of Merrill Lynch & Co. Investment Banking China
11. Deng Mingzhu (董明珠): Chairwoman Zhuhai Gree Electrical Appliance Inc.
12. He Chaoqiong (何超琼 or Pansy Ho): Managing director Shun Tak Holdings
13. Chen Ningning (陈宁宁): Chairwoman of Pioneer Metals Group
14. Zhang Xin (张欣): Co-CEO of SOHO China
15. Yang Lan (杨澜): Co-founder and chairperson of Sun Media Investment Holdings
16. Ye Yuede: (叶约德 or Amy Yip) Chief Executive Officer of DBS Asset Management
17. Li Qianling: (李倩玲 or Bessie Lee) Chief Executive GroupM China
18. Ru Linqi: (汝林琪 or Tina Ju) Managing partner of KPCB China
19. Chen Xiuwen (陈秀玟): General manager of IBM China
20. Li Lizhen (黎丽珍): Senior vice president and president greater China of ACP-MGE
21. Li Yifei (李亦非): Chief representative of Viacom China
22. Pan Peicong (潘佩聪): President of China Tingyu Group
23. Zhang Tian'ai: (张天爱 or Flora Zeta) Fashion designer, founder and president of The House of Tian Art
24. Tan Xuejing (谈雪晶): President of Folli Follie China
25. Yang Minde (杨敏德): Chairwoman of Esquel Group