On July 19, Tatler and The Upper House hosted the latest edition of House Stories, a monthly panel series at the hotel’s Sky Lounge.
When? July 19, 2023
Where? The Sky Lounge at The Upper House
Who? Betty Ng, Kiri T and Alice C Wong
Here’s what you missed: This edition puts a spotlight on the personal journeys of women in male-dominated industries and brought together Kiri Tse, aka Kiri T, a singer-songwriter and record producer signed to Warner Music Group in Hong Kong; Alice C Wong, creative director of Hong Kong’s first NFT collection Monkey Kingdom; and Betty Ng, founder of the international architectural firm Collective. Moderated by Tatler’s deputy digital editor Salomé Grouard, the panellists discussed gender bias in their industries and what needs to be done for better balance.
The panellists discussed how women in male-dominated industries are disrupting and reshaping the status quo of their professions simply by being in it. How, despite progress towards gender equality, women are still significantly underrepresented in fields such as technology, architecture and music. And while there have been gains in recent years, there is still a long way to go to achieve true gender parity in these industries.
Ng, whose projects include Penicillin (one of Asia’s 50 Best Bars), the West Kowloon Cultural District master plan and the Joyce Hong Kong flagship boutique, has faced her fair share of gender bias work, most notably when being dismissed on construction sites where the workers were reluctant to take orders from a woman. But Ng says she never let these situations get in the way of her work. “I seldom think of my gender at work,” she said. “I deal with being a woman in a male-dominated industry by normalising my presence. If I didn’t believe in myself, why would my clients? I think it’s important not to think of it as a disadvantage.”
For Wong, being a woman in tech has had its challenges—in part due to computing and programming having historically been associated with hobbies that were more popular among men. “I’m constantly being reminded that I’m a woman—especially when I voice my opinion,” Wong said. “Because of this, it’s sometimes difficult for me to take the lead.” She has also been mistaken for a man on the social platform, Discord.
“People assume women work in marketing or design, but when you tell them you know how to code, they are very surprised.” It wasn’t until she began attending public events and doing media interviews that people realised she is a woman.
