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The Jane Sun Women’s Leadership Programme launches, backed by one of Asia’s leading female CEOs

Published

Ahead of International Women’s Day, a new programme to support women’s leadership globally and inspire the next generation of female leaders, is being launched.

The Jane Sun Women's Leadership Programme has been made possible thanks to a generous gift from Jane Sun, CEO of global travel platform Trip.com Group and one of the few female CEOs in the global tech industry. The programme aims to drive meaningful research, provide scholarships, and improve leadership opportunities for women across fields of study, through three key components:

  • the Jane Sun Career Development Fellow in Women’s Leadership will conduct research projects in respect of gender and leadership
  • the Oxford Saïd Jane Sun Future Leaders Scholarships will offer full scholarships to 18 women pursuing MBAs at Oxford Saïd
  • the Women’s Leadership Lectures series will showcase female thought leaders and inspire young women as they navigate their own leadership journeys.

Jane Sun's generous donation to the Women's Leadership Programme is a transformative gift, not only to Oxford Saïd, but to the future of women in leadership across the world.

Professor Soumitra Dutta

Peter Moores Dean, Saïd Business School

Welcoming the news, Professor Dutta added: 'With women making up 48% of our current MBA cohort, we are increasing our investment in developing future female leaders. Jane's contribution is a crucial part of our ongoing commitment to breaking down barriers and creating pathways for women to lead, innovate, and inspire. I am pleased we have been able to announce this shortly before International Women’s Day, supporting this year’s theme of ’Accelerate Action’.'

A strong advocate for increasing female representation in senior leadership roles, Ms Sun believes empowerment and workplace support are crucial to achieving this goal. At Trip.com Group, she has spearheaded key policies that support employees in balancing their professional and personal lives. These include the Hybrid Work Policy, Childcare Subsidy, and Family Care Leave. Beyond her role at Trip.com Group, Ms Sun actively champions gender equality, including funding educational programmes in various countries and delivering keynote speeches on this topic at global conferences and forums.

Education is crucial to achieving gender equality. Through this programme, I hope to empower young women to develop the leadership capabilities they need, ensuring they possess the skills, networks, and confidence to lead across diverse sectors.

Jane Sun

CEO of global travel platform Trip.com Group

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Ms Sun added: 'I am grateful to the University of Oxford for providing me with the opportunity to contribute to female empowerment, and I look forward to meeting with, and supporting, the students of the Women’s Leadership Programme.’

Also welcoming the news, Professor Sue Dopson, Deputy Dean for People and Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), and Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Oxford Saïd, added: ‘Since Jane Sun joined Trip.com Group as its CFO about 20 years ago, its market capitalisation has increased from approximately US$1 billion million to more than US$40 billion today. Jane is not only an exceptional business leader, who has propelled Trip.com's remarkable growth, but she is also an inspiring role model for the leaders of tomorrow at Oxford Saïd.

‘While her expertise and insights are invaluable, what is, perhaps, even more admirable is her unwavering commitment to cultivating an environment where both men and women can thrive equally. We are honoured to partner with Jane in shaping the future of leadership, empowering the next generation to drive meaningful change in both business and society.’

Women's representation in leadership roles remains disproportionately low. According to a recent report from leading management consultants McKinsey: ‘Women remain under-represented at every stage of the corporate pipeline. The report also highlights how programmes to empower women in business through scholarships, mentorships, leadership training, and tailored networking opportunities, can help them overcome the barriers they often face. 

The new Jane Sun Women’s Leadership Programme will help foster diversity of thought and experience in the business world, which should ultimately improve overall business performance. According to the Global Fund Manager Blackrock: ‘Companies with the most diverse workforces outperformed their country and industry group peers with the least-diverse workforces.’ 

The same report also found: ‘Higher women’s representation in the workforce is statistically positively linked to higher future performance.’

The Programme will launch in the 2024-25 academic year, with the fellowship and scholarships set to begin in the 2025-26 academic year.  It reflects Oxford Saïd’s ongoing commitment to advancing equity in leadership across the global business community.
 

Women at Oxford Saïd.