OREANDA-NEWS. In its fifth year, Deutsche Bank’s 2015 Women in Asian Business (WAB) conference will focus on the essential contributions men can make towards levelling the playing field for women in the workplace.

This year’s conference explores the theme ‘Men Matter’, bringing together a group of influential guest speakers and role models on Tuesday, September 22 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, to discuss this idea and its practical implications.

Speakers at this year’s conference include:

  • Gunit Chadha: Member of the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank AG, and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific
  • Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at the NYU School of Law
  • In conversation with: Elin Hurvenes, Founder & Chair, Professional Boards Forum; Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rafiah Salim, Head of NAM Institute for Empowerment of Women, Malaysia
  • Jackson Katz, Educator, Author, Filmmaker and Cultural Theorist; Co-founder of the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program
  • Liza Donnelly, Writer and Cartoonist, The New Yorker magazine


Conference co-chairs: Antonia Cowdry, Regional Head of Human Resources, Asia Pacific; and David Lynne, Head of Fixed Income & Currencies and Commodities, Asia, Deutsche Bank.

Antonia Cowdry said: “It may seem paradoxical for a Women in Business conference to focus on men, but by turning our attention this year to the role they can play in improving gender diversity, we want to reach decision-makers who previously hadn’t considered these issues. We want to convince them that they, too, stand to benefit from greater gender diversity in the workplace and to motivate them to use their influence to help deliver changes that will benefit everyone.”

David Lynne said: “This year’s theme, ‘Men Matter’, challenges men and tests whether we are willing to take the opportunity to raise our game. As partners, fathers and mentors, all men have an interest and a responsibility to participate, not just because it makes good business sense, but also because we have the power to create equal opportunities for the benefit of all.”

With its HeForShe campaign, the United Nations this year moved the dial on gender equality and workplace diversity, declaring that men are important in helping to achieve diversity goals. WAB is taking the next step by exploring how this can apply in business.

Since 1995, Deutsche Bank has hosted annual Women in Business conferences in Frankfurt, London, New York, Singapore, Milan and Sydney. The events have been extremely successful in driving the diversity agenda and offering insight and perspectives on this vital topic to more than 5,000 clients, industry leaders and Bank employees. The Bank will continue to deliver a first-class conference product by developing innovative formats and content.