Taking Charge

On a mission to challenge gender stereotypes, Su-mei Thompson draws on a wealth of experience. She tells Venus Wong of her latest project, a film commissioned by the Women’s Foundation

f you were to publish a guidebook for women on achieving success in the workplace, Women’s Foundation CEO Su-mei Thompson would be a good choice for the cover. Before devoting her time to the NGO, which promotes equal participation of women and girls in all aspects of Hong Kong society, she had an illustrious career in the business world and held top positions at companies such as Disney, the Financial Times and Christie’s.

With her warm smile and air of confidence, Su-mei instantly draws people in. But despite her poise and achievements, she suffers impostor syndrome, the warped perception that one does not deserve the success one has achieved—a condition many women know only too well. She traces the cause to her childhood. “When I was growing up in Malaysia, my parents always imparted to me the need to be humble,” she says. “I grew up with the feeling that I was never quite enough.”

She is not alone. A Hewlett-packard study of staff attitudes, quoted in the 2014 self-help book The Confidence Code and a variety of media reports, found women will only apply for jobs if they feel 100 per cent qualified, while men feel confident enough to apply with a 60 per cent match. Su-mei says one of the reasons for this disparity is the lack of media coverage of high-powered women.

To counter this, the Women’s Foundation commissioned She Objects, a documentary directed by Nicola Fan, which examines how the media creates and exacerbates gender stereotypes. It explores the correlation between the portrayal of women in the media and the leadership ambition gap, along with the media’s impact on women’s self-esteem and violence against women.

After making a splash in May at the Cannes Film Festival—where Su-mei joined actor Salma Hayek, author Zainab Salbi and writer/ director Lisa Azuelos on a discussion panel— She Objects premiered in Hong Kong on June 14. “We’re asking people to pause and reflect on the current state of the media and pop culture, and to think whether the cultural norms they are promoting are harmful,” says Su-mei. “With youth’s unprecedented access to the internet today, there are even more pressures on girls and women than before.”

Her assessment could not be more accurate. According to a 2015 study of attitudes in 22 countries by research firm GFK Germany, Hongkongers rank in the bottom three when it comes to satisfaction with their appearance. More than 70 per cent of teenage girls say imagery in magazines influences their feelings on ideal body shape, which inevitably leads to anxiety and lowered perceptions of themselves.

Such findings resonate deeply with Sumei. “My older daughter, Tallulah, is so easily embarrassed and always imagining that everyone is staring at her,” she says. “Looking into why she’s not alone, through this project, was really eye-opening for me.” The film is laden with harrowing quotes from teenage girls sharing their experiences, from getting body-shamed by their peers to skipping school due to lack of confidence in how they look.

“Eating disorders and low self-esteem are issues that transcend class and education,” says Su-mei. “The good news is: even the smallest interventions have a positive and sustainable impact on children’s confidence and aspirations.”

During the Cannes festival, Su-mei and her team recruited movers and shakers, from Chinese fashion, music and screen queen Chris Lee to French businessman François-henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, to pose with a sign printed with hashtags calling attention to the She Objects project. “We were asking all sorts of people to take photos with the sign: studio directors, big names—even two guys who hitched a ride in our limousine,” laughs Su-mei.

With such a go-getting visionary on board, the battle to change the media conversation on women is well on the way to being won.