A volunteer network of professionals across business, education and counselling has played a pivotal role in helping ethnically diverse young women in Hong Kong build confidence and access careers.

Known as Empower by the Amber Foundation, the initiative—launched in 2017—now counts over 250 mentors and coaches, and has been named a finalist in the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards’ teamwork category.

Initially offering scholarships to women from ethnic minority backgrounds, the programme soon recognised that financial aid alone was insufficient.

Chairwoman Elizabeth Thomson explained that despite scholarship support many recipients still lacked the professional networks, exposure and confidence required to navigate the corporate world.

Empower was created to bridge this gap.

Each year it runs seven interactive workshops focused on practical professional development: CV writing, interview preparation, workplace etiquette, financial literacy and more.

Mentors, group leaders and industry professionals volunteer across multiple sectors including psychology, banking and education.

“It’s all teamwork,” Thomson said, acknowledging that the program thrives on collective contribution.

Among those involved, Manisha Wijesinghe emphasises that leadership is not limited to the executive committee.

Over 250 group leaders and mentors support the initiative because they believe participants deserve equal opportunity.

Mentor Mamta Hotchandani, who works in banking, reflected on personal experience: growing up, she rarely saw professionals who came from backgrounds that looked like hers.

“Representation matters.

When the girls see mentors from similar backgrounds, they realise they can do it too,” she said.

Empower is explicit in its philosophy: beneficiaries are not passive recipients of charity, but talented individuals seeking visibility and access.

Executive committee member Reena Rollason said, “These young women do not need help.

They need opportunities”.

The programme is built around a cycle of giving back: alumni return as mentors, new cohorts receive support, and together the community becomes self-reinforcing.

May Anne Bird described the network as “a team without egos” sustained by shared values and persistence.

While professional skills are central, emotional support is also integral.

As Wijesinghe put it, “Confidence comes from feeling heard”.

Thus, counselling and coaching are embedded alongside training.

Managing Director James Thomson-Sakhrani noted that as Hong Kong increasingly aspires toward inclusion, Empower presents a living model of diversity in action.

“There’s growing awareness of diversity here, but we still need to make it part of the system,” he said, adding that Empower demonstrates what inclusion looks like in practice.

Being named a finalist in the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards—co-organised by leading civic institutions—reflects both the programme’s impact and recognition of unsung contributions to the city’s social fabric.

For Empower, that honour underscores a broader ambition: to elevate opportunities, connectivity and equity for ethnic minority women in Hong Kong’s workforce.