The Inaugural Class: AmCham China’s Women’s Leadership & Impact Awards

Every March, AmCham China’s Women’s Summit brings together members, thought leaders, and the broader AmCham China community from across sectors to celebrate International Women’s Day — advancing conversations, sharing insights and best practices, and continuing the work of empowering women and building more inclusive workplaces.

This year, the Summit takes that commitment one step further. Meaningful dialogue matters, but so does recognition — of the leaders championing women in the workplace, the emerging talents shaping the next generation, the organizations building more equitable and supportive environments, and the innovators developing new approaches to women’s well-being.

In that spirit, AmCham China is proud to introduce, for the first time, the AmCham China Women’s Leadership & Impact Awards. Spanning four categories — the Outstanding Female Leader Award, the Emerging Female Leader Award, the Women’s Workplace Impact Award, and the Women’s Well-Being Innovation Award — these awards honor the individuals and organizations making a meaningful difference across the business community.

Women’s Workplace Impact Award

This award recognizes organizations that offer strong support and opportunities for women in the workplace. It acknowledges companies that advance policies, culture, and practices that enable women to thrive.

Winner: GE Vernova

GE Vernova has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 AmCham China Women’s Workplace Impact Award in recognition of its strong commitment to advancing opportunities for women and fostering an inclusive workplace culture. Through initiatives led by the GE Vernova China Women’s Network (GEV CWN), the company has created meaningful platforms that support women’s professional development, leadership visibility, and overall well-being across its China operations.

Supporting more than 550 women employees across 10 offices and five regional hubs, the CWN delivers programs focused on career development, health and wellbeing, community engagement, and leadership access. Recent initiatives include women’s health seminars, breast and cervical cancer prevention workshops, leadership dialogue sessions with visiting global executives, and the “SHERO: The Power of Her” storytelling series on the organization’s official WeChat account, which highlights women leaders across engineering, sourcing, quality, and manufacturing roles. With women representing approximately one-third of leadership positions across GE Vernova China, the CWN’s efforts help strengthen the company’s leadership pipeline and cultivate a workplace where women are empowered to grow, lead, and thrive.

Winner: Reckitt China

Reckitt China has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 AmCham China Women’s Workplace Impact Award in recognition of its commitment to building an inclusive workplace and advancing opportunities for women across its organization. As part of its broader sustainability ambitions and diversity strategy, the company has implemented a range of policies and programs designed to support women’s development, strengthen leadership pipelines, and ensure fairness across the employee lifecycle.

Women make up more than 60 percent of Reckitt China’s workforce, and initiatives such as the Mulan Program, the company’s flagship women’s leadership initiative, aim to further accelerate female career advancement through mentorship, professional development, and leadership visibility. Complementing these efforts are inclusive recruitment practices, annual gender pay reviews, and family-friendly policies under the Carers @ Reckitt program, which provides enhanced parental support and flexible benefits for employees with caregiving responsibilities. The impact of these efforts is evident in the company’s talent development outcomes, with women making up 59 percent of new hires in 2025 and more than half of Mulan Program participants moving into new roles, rotations, or promotions.

Women’s Well-Being Innovation Award

This award celebrates innovative products, services, or initiatives that enhance women’s wellbeing across health, lifestyle, or consumer sectors. It recognizes organizations driving real improvements in women’s daily lives.

Winner: Abbott

Abbott is a recipient of the AmCham China Women’s Well-Being Innovation Award, recognizing the organization’s efforts to advance women’s health through collaboration, policy engagement, and medical innovation. In 2023, Abbott signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s National Health Commission’s Maternal and Child Health Center to support the development of a “fertility-friendly society” and improve prenatal and reproductive health services nationwide. The company has also facilitated high-level knowledge exchanges for doctors across the country, including training programs and collaboration with specialized maternal and child hospitals to develop scientific care pathways that strengthen maternal healthcare systems.

Abbott’s initiatives have also improved access to treatment. The inclusion of Femoston® in the 2025 National Reimbursement Drug List has lowered out-of-pocket costs for menopausal hormone therapy, enabling more women to access guideline-recommended treatment and improving women’s health outcomes.

Winner: The Estée Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies is a recipient of the AmCham China Women’s Well-Being Innovation Award, recognized for its longstanding commitment to women’s health through its global Breast Cancer Campaign, also known as the Pink Ribbon initiative. Founded in 1992 by Evelyn H. Lauder, the campaign helped break the silence surrounding breast cancer and sparked a global movement focused on awareness, prevention, and treatment. Since its launch, The Estée Lauder Companies and The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation have funded more than $144 million for breast cancer initiatives worldwide, including over $114 million supporting research through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Introduced to China in 2003, the Pink Ribbon initiative supports programs focused on education, screening, research, and patient assistance. Through partnerships including the World Health Organization’s Shanghai Health Education Center, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Peking University Third Hospital, and the China Women’s Development Foundation, the company has expanded breast cancer education and screening programs, supported research, and provided financial assistance to patients. In 2023, marking 20 years of the initiative in China, The Estée Lauder Companies committed RMB 10 million over three years to support breast health education and services across multiple regions, including rural communities.

Outstanding Female Leader Award

This award recognizes outstanding women who demonstrate above-and-beyond leadership, strategic vision, and organizational impact. It celebrates individuals who serve as role models and mentors, and who support broader representation through both influence and action.

Winner: Joy Fan, The Estée Lauder Companies

Joy Fan, President and Chief Executive Officer of China at The Estée Lauder Companies, is a recipient of the Outstanding Female Leader Award in recognition of her strategic leadership, organizational impact, and commitment to developing the next generation of talent. As a member of the company’s Global Management Committee, Fan leads business performance and long-term strategy in one of the company’s most important markets. She has played a key role in advancing the company’s “second home market” strategy in China, building a highly localized leadership organization that integrates consumer insight and data-driven decision-making.

Under her leadership, The Estée Lauder Companies China has strengthened its market position and continued to grow across categories and channels. Fan is also a role model and advocate for inclusive leadership, championing initiatives that support talent development and female leadership. Through programs such as the China Management Trainee Program and policies promoting equal pay, flexible work, and career advancement, she is fostering the next generation of female leaders and reinforcing the company’s commitment to women’s development and community impact.

Winner: Mingjuan Hou, Qualcomm

Mingjuan Hou, Vice President at Qualcomm, is a recipient of the Outstanding Female Leader Award in recognition of her leadership in the technology sector and her efforts to empower women in emerging industries. With more than 20 years of experience in corporate communications, branding, and marketing strategy, Hou leads Qualcomm’s brand strategy, corporate communications, product marketing, and digital communications in China, helping strengthen the company’s brand presence and industry engagement.

Beyond her corporate leadership, Hou has been a strong advocate for women’s participation in technology and innovation. She frequently speaks at major industry and leadership forums organized by institutions including AmCham China, Xinhua News Agency, and leading business schools, encouraging women to pursue opportunities in areas such as artificial intelligence and advanced connectivity. Through her WeChat video channel “Mingjuan and Her Friends,” she interviews senior female executives from global companies, sharing their experiences with a broad audience and helping inspire the next generation of female leaders.

Winner: Mei Zhang, WildChina

Mei Zhang, founder of WildChina, is a recipient of the Outstanding Female Leader Award in recognition of her visionary leadership in sustainable tourism and community-based cultural preservation. Through initiatives such as GUDAO, WildChina’s ancient trails program, Zhang has worked to revive historic routes—including sections of the Tea Horse Trail—while reconnecting travelers with China’s cultural heritage, landscapes, and rural communities. By promoting slow, human-scale travel and restoring historic pathways across regions such as Yunnan, Zhejiang, Guizhou, and Beijing, her work has created new opportunities for cultural exchange and sustainable local livelihoods.

Under Zhang’s leadership, the GUDAO initiative pairs trail restoration with long-term community engagement, including training local guides and supporting nationally recognized mountain-guide certification to help create stable, place-based careers. In addition to her on-the-ground work, she has emerged as one of China’s most influential voices on sustainable travel and mindful living. On RedNote (Xiaohongshu), she reaches nearly 650,000 followers and uses her platform to advocate for responsible travel, cultural respect, and long-term thinking. Through storytelling, Zhang translates complex ideas into accessible narratives that resonate far beyond the travel industry.

Emerging Female Leader Award

This award honors early- or mid-career women who demonstrate strong potential for future leadership. It highlights rising talent who are making meaningful contributions to their organizations or industries.

Winner: Connie Feng, ExxonMobil China

Connie Feng, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs at ExxonMobil China, is the recipient of the Emerging Female Leader Award, recognizing her strong leadership potential and growing impact in the energy sector. With nearly two decades of experience in energy and petrochemicals, She leads ExxonMobil China’s policy and regulatory engagement and advances partnerships with government stakeholders, industry, academia, and the broader business community.

She is being recognized for her ability to design and execute a nationwide public and government affairs strategy that supports the company’s long-term growth in China. Through her leadership, ExxonMobil has strengthened its position as a trusted partner and thought leader among key stakeholders while navigating a complex geopolitical and business environment. Beyond her corporate role, she also serves as Co-Chair of the AmCham China Young Professionals Committee, where she supports the development of next-generation government affairs professionals and encourages more young women to pursue leadership roles in the business community.