SFC Correspondent Lu Taoran, Li Deshangyu in Beijing

Nowadays, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) has become a key indicator for measuring corporate sustainable development, and gender equality, diversity, and inclusion are also important components of social responsibility in the ESG concept.  

Facing various challenges brought by social development and changes in the workplace environment, how can women enhance their female leadership? Recently, Yang Lan, Leading broadcast journalist and Chairperson of Sun Media Group, served as the Image Ambassador of the 3rd "Vitality·ESG" Innovation Forum in 2025 and accepted an exclusive interview with the reporter.  

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Yang Lan has been deeply engaged in the field of women"s empowerment for more than a decade and served as the Social Responsibility Ambassador of the 21st Century "Vitality·ESG" in 2023. Her Village Academy, founded by her, has developed the "Phoenix Tree Growth Model". Metaphorically based on the phoenix tree, and drawing on years of insights into the needs of female entrepreneurs, this model takes the construction of self-worth and subjective consciousness as the root system of growth and integrates interdisciplinary educational concepts such as behavioral science and psychology.  

The core of sustainable development is "People-oriented Thinking", Yang Lan said, and the ESG concept precisely provides a clear path for such all-round development.  

Women’s empowerment drives ESG

SFC Markets and Finance: Your career spans multiple fields including media, business, and public welfare. From being a host to an entrepreneur, you have always promoted social issues through cross-border practices. How do you view the possibility of women breaking through traditional boundaries in career development?  

Yang Lan: My career experience does involve diverse fields, from character interviews to women"s education, and then to the international dissemination of intangible cultural heritage. This "cross-border" practice stems from my continuous attention to and enthusiasm for exploring different industries. I have always encouraged women to break the visible or invisible constraints in career development. Therefore, I hope to help women explore their potential and release their value through platforms such as hosting the Her Village International Forum and establishing Her Village Academy.  

When I founded the Her Village International Forum in 2014, the core goal was to promote social gender equality, speak up for women, and empower their growth. To this end, the forum invites guests from various fields at home and abroad to share practical experiences, facilitating in-depth ideological exchanges and collisions of wisdom. More importantly, the forum has built a "community-style" emotional connection and support network, making every participant feel accompanied and supported. The most significant change over these 11 years is the continuous awakening of women"s self-awareness—from passively awakening potential and establishing value recognition to actively pursuing dreams. This transformation confirms the deepening of gender equality practices.  

SFC Markets and Finance: According to MSCI"s 2024 Report on Progress in Female Representation on Boards, the proportion of female directors in large and mid-cap listed companies worldwide rose from 25.8% in 2023 to 27.3%. What do you think this figure indicates, and how do you view the cultivation of executive capabilities?  

Yang Lan: The increase in this figure reflects the gradual improvement of women"s participation in various sectors of society, which is driven by the awakening of women"s self-awareness and the deepening social emphasis on gender equality. However, the rise in numbers is only one aspect; more importantly, it is the depth at which women truly play a role in decision-making and drive changes.  

In cultivating female executives" capabilities, the core lies in solidifying the foundation of self-value recognition. Women need to first establish a clear understanding of their own value and break the psychological shackles of "self-limitation". Women"s productivity and creativity have not been fully unleashed, and the answer to the world"s future may lie in women"s awakening and creativity.  

Take the "Phoenix Tree Growth Model" of Her Village Academy as an example, which implies that the phoenix tree is home to the phoenix. This model integrates interdisciplinary educational concepts such as behavioral science and psychology, adapts to the local cultural context, and combines domestic and foreign classic leadership course systems with Columbia University"s Athena Women"s Leadership Athena CORE10 Model. Metaphorically based on the "phoenix tree", the model takes the construction of self-worth and subjective consciousness as the root system of growth; the crown part clarifies three core competencies: learning ability focuses on continuous learning and environmental adaptability; leadership emphasizes the ability to organize and coordinate teams to achieve common goals; well-being ability highlights balancing happiness and vitality in the process of striving. 

From the perspective of social responsibility, gender equality and women"s growth are core issues for social sustainable development. Through systematic empowerment practices, this model is a concrete implementation of the "S" (Social Responsibility) concept in ESG, continuously injecting impetus into building a diverse and inclusive social ecology.

Make Good Use of AI to Improve Work Efficiency

SFC Markets and Finance: The AI wave is sweeping the globe, profoundly reshaping the workplace ecology. What new connotations do you think this has brought to women"s development? 

Yang Lan: According to the latest data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Poland"s National Institute of Telecommunications (NASK), as artificial intelligence reshapes the workplace, this technology has a particularly significant impact on women"s jobs because positions where women are concentrated, such as basic research, assistant roles, and service industries, are easily replaced by AI. This undoubtedly brings urgent challenges of skill transformation and career path reshaping. However, on the other side of the coin lies opportunities. I believe that the open and inclusive mindset, strong emotional connection, and empathy in women"s traits precisely constitute the irreplaceable "resilience" advantages in the AI era. In emerging fields such as mental health services, the big health industry, innovative education, physical and mental integration development, and the aesthetics and creative economy, women"s potential has huge room for release. Technology has always been a double-edged sword; the key lies in how to harness it. 

SFC Markets and Finance: Do you use AI tools in your daily work? What suggestions do you have for professional women to improve efficiency with the help of AI?  

Yang Lan: I regard AI as an efficiency tool. For example, when preparing for a speech, I use it to quickly gather background information or sort out an initial framework. However, the core topic setting, logical construction, and comprehensive judgment still rely on human wisdom. In most industries, human creativity, strategic imagination, in-depth aesthetics, and empathy and connection abilities in complex situations are beyond AI"s reach.  

Therefore, my suggestion is to regard AI as a work assistant but never be "kidnapped" by it. For professional women, I suggest actively mastering AI tools to optimize processes and free up energy, so as to focus more on high-value work that requires in-depth thinking, value judgment, and human connection—this is precisely the core of future competitiveness. In addition, in the era of artificial intelligence, female entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, and managers need lifelong learning and growth, cross-border thinking, strengthened humanistic care, market insight, interpersonal communication, and team motivation abilities, as well as improved well-being ability.

Chief Producer: Zhao Haijian

Supervising Producer: Shi Shi

Editor: Li Yinong

Reporter: Lu Taoran, Li Deshangyu, Intern Fang Zhengjie

Video Editor: Cai Yutian, Li Qun

New Media Coordination: Ding Qingyun, Zeng Tingfang, Lai Xi, Huang Daxun

Overseas Operations Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

Overseas Content Coordinator: Huang Zihao

Overseas Operations Editors: Zhuang Huan, Wu Wanjie, Long Lihua, Chen Quanyi 

Produced by: Southern Finance Omnimedia Group