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Chief executives of top chinese companies prove status of women, but many say road still challenging

They are the chief executives of some of China's top companies, lone women sitting on top of billions of dollars of assets in companies such as Gree, Huawei and Haier. Their names are recognized worldwide as the most influential in business, and each is living proof that women in China do indeed hold up half the sky in an economic power that is expected to flex its global muscles in the current century.

As they navigate the world of commerce once dominated by men, these women are bringing about management changes that most credit to their maternal instincts and womanly housekeeping abilities - incorporating EQ as well as IQ into their business skill sets.

Still, these lady bosses all admit that the road up is fraught with challenges, and that one of the hardest hurdles is the ability to balance family and career. There are still traditional battles to be fought in a country where equality is a given, at least in theory.

Yang Mianmian

Yang Mianmian, Haier president

Yang Mianmian, Haier president, was ranked among the first 20 in Fortune magazine's list of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Business last year, her sixth year on the honor roll.

Her accomplishment has been fiscal as well as physical. In 2009, Haier recorded an unprecedented profit of 3.49 billion yuan (381 million euros), a direct result of Yang taking the company from being a home appliance manufacturer to a service provider.

Yang also nudged Haier into the international market, and its appliances are now sold in Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States.

Does she ever count the cost?

"I have always considered this. While Chinese women are willing to be housewives, few Chinese men willingly become house-husbands. She works, he works, but she has to build her career on the foundation of first managing her home well. That's the price she has to pay."

Yang also has her theories on a woman's competitiveness in the workplace.

"In industry, it is not the gender that matters. Your success or responsibility is directly commensurate with what you are willing to contribute.

"There are petty men, just as there are petty women. And there are those who are big-hearted too, either man or woman. It is important to learn to accommodate other people's opinions, if you want them to reciprocate. No one is perfect. If you pick on someone, you will find it hard to cooperate and work as a team.

"These days, it's all about cooperation and joint ventures. When you have to work together with all manner of people, you must learn to accommodate and compromise.

"If a person pays too much attention to details, it may be both an advantage and a disadvantage. The bottom line is, you must learn to work with people who are different, and you cannot dismiss them because they are not like you."

Yang thinks being a woman helps. "Women are more loving, because they are naturally maternal. It is a universal trait. And we can use this innate ability in our attitude towards both staff and products."

For Yang, career and family share an unbreakable bond.

"I place equal priority on both home and career. You cannot have a good career if you do not first have a stable home. If you tell me you have to sacrifice home for career, then I'll say you did not choose the correct spouse in the first place."

She says no woman can give up her family. "If the job does not work out, you just choose another, that's why the secret is in seeking out the right balance."

As far as Yang can see, the opportunities for women in China are limitless.

"The emphasis now is not just on economic targets, but also on social achievements. Economic success is inexorably tied to civil well-being and social welfare. Chinese women hold up half the sky, we share half the responsibilities. It's just division of labor, and different ways to contribute. There are no boundaries that say it's a higher or lower calling for men or women."

Li Xiaolin

Li Xiaolin

Li Xiaolin, the chief executive officer of China Power International Development Ltd, is another achiever who believes her sex is an advantage in management. She thinks female entrepreneurs can create corporate bonding among employees because of their innate mothering instincts.

"We can bring warmth and sincerity to the corporate environment, creating a feeling of kinship within the company," Li says.

Li's background, however, is more technical than managerial, having obtained a master's degree in engineering from Tsinghua University. In spite of her success in business, she, too, recognizes that a woman's role in society is clearly defined.

"Being a good wife, a good mother, a good daughter and a good sister - that is our basic obligation, and the key to social harmony, stability and happiness," Li says. But there are still choices a woman can make.

Choosing a good partner and having a good marriage may depend on a bit of luck or good fortune, Li says, but she thinks there is definitely more control when a woman chooses her career, as it is totally dependent on the decisions she makes.

Dong Mingzhu

Dong Mingzhu

Dong Mingzhu, president of Gree Electric Appliances, is a woman of great strength and confidence. She is known as a manager who does not hesitate to fire anyone she feels is not pulling his or her weight.

Yet, she tells China Daily, her main contribution to the management team is the feminine warmth and intimacy that characterizes her style, a style that emphasizes the human aspect of management.

"As a woman, I bring strength and warmth to the company by initiating better welfare for employees. We treat our staff well, and few workers leave for a competitor."

Even at times when the industry is plagued by labor shortages, Gree does not feel the pressure.

"The most important thing is to treat your employees well. In return, you will earn their loyalty. Our top production workers earn about 40,000 yuan per annum. The company provides quarters that they share two to a room. We try our best to improve working and living conditions as part of staff welfare."

But true to her reputation, Dong hastens to add that being a woman does not mean she is a pushover. Her emphasis, she says, is to create a fair merit system, and a corporate culture that encourages employees to stay loyal.

Her management maxim is summed up in one word: Focus.

"In our more than 20 years of production, Gree has concentrated on one product - air conditioners. Many of our competitors have long diversified, but to me, diversification will dilute your core competency. I don't believe that you cannot put your eggs in one basket. It just means you are not concentrating on improving your core abilities."