INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: Stories of successful women in the field of Chinese Studies

March is around the corner and European Guanxi is preparing something big for one of our monthly events. We chose 8th March - International Women’s Day – to set up our first roundtable discussion to celebrate women who have established themselves in the field of China.

To make the most out of this celebration, EG has invited four successful women to share their personal stories and professional experiences. Our guests for the forthcoming event – Federica Ingrosso, Ivana Karásková, Babette Radclyffe-Thomas, Catherine Hua Xiang - are four women and four eminences in their area of expertise.

Starting a career in “the China field” is not as easy as it may seem. Thanks to their different educational and professional backgrounds, their presence as speakers in this panel will provide us with some valuable insights into the world of professionals –with its opportunities and constraints– from a female perspective. The roundtable discussion will facilitate the constructive dialogue between attendees with differing firsthand experiences and points of view, allowing participants to learn from women who are giving their contribution to the building of a more inclusive environment around the discussion on China.

Despite the considerable progress over the last decades, women still face barriers to selection, promotion, and recognition in the workplace. At European Guanxi, we strongly believe that men and women must unite for change and our events are always organized in the name of inclusivity, diversity, and gender balance. Nevertheless, we wanted to take advantage of International Women’s Day to celebrate women’s success stories as part of our promotion of a message of solidarity and support to all women around the world.

Our speakers:

Federica Ingrosso

Federica Ingrosso is a Country Manager for the Chinese Market at Mia Burton. She is also a contributing writer to the Asia Desk for the Italian online magazine "Il Caffè Geopolitico" and "Dao Insights", where she writes about Chinese society, culture, and economics and digital marketing trends. Federica Ingrosso graduated with honours both at her Bachelor's degree in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation at the University of Salento and at her Master's degree in Languages and Cultures for International Communication and Cooperation at the University of Milan.

Ivana Karásková

Ivana Karásková is a China analyst and university lecturer, founder and project leader of MapInfluenCE, and of China Observers of Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE). Besides, she is a China Research Fellow at the Associations for International Affairs (AMO), European China Policy Fellow at MERICS, and a former Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Her research results have featured in the New York Times, Financial Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Le Temps and Diplomat, among others. In addition to several university degrees in Journalism and Mass Communications, European Studies and International Relations, Karásková holds a PhD in International Relations from Charles University.

Babette Radclyffe-Thomas

Babette Radclyffe-Thomas is a PhD candidate at the London College of Fashion, and her dissertation focuses on Vogue China's editorial content, covering the representations of gender, identity and beauty. She is a brand consultant and strategist working with a wide array of clients internationally. Besides, Radclyffe-Thomas is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of the most influential fashion and style publications in Asia and Europe including Vogue China, Prestige and Design Anthology. After studying Chinese at the University of Leeds, she obtained a Master's degree in Fashion Journalism with high distinction from the London College of Fashion in 2013.

Catherine Hua Xiang

Catherine Hua Xiang works as an East Asian Language coordinator at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She is also the Programme Director of BSc International Relations and Chinese, and the UK Director of LSE Confucius Institute for Business London. She has a PhD in Cross-Cultural Communication and Pragmatics. Currently, she is researching the implications of e-learning in foreign language teaching and learning. Xiang launched her youtube channel "字 espresso" in 2020, with the aim to explain the relationship between Chinese characters and words.

Our moderator

Valeria Fappani

Valeria Fappani is an active member of European Guanxi, where she works as part of the Webinars Team. She has a Bachelor's degree in Foreign Languages (English and Chinese) and a Master's in European and International Studies. She’s currently attending a postgraduate course by the Italian Trade Agency focusing on export management and digitalisation.