The Empower Programme is a year-long personal and professional development programme for mid-level career women organised by the BCCK in partnership with the British Embassy Seoul, which was launched in 2023.  

The Programme was launched in response to data on the difficulties faced by women in business in South Korea. While Korea achieves the highest level of education for women in the OECD, it still has the largest gender pay gap of all OECD countries. The Programme addresses some of the barriers encountered by women through providing access to female role models, networking opportunities as well as learning & development sessions focused on fostering leadership and cross-industry knowledge.  

In 2023, we received 65 applications to the Programme, of which 14 women were accepted. The Programme was launched by UK Government Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan on her visit to Seoul and was widely covered by local media. Over the course of the last year, the Chamber arranged for the Programme cohort to have half-day workshops with BCCK member companies, to meet with visiting Government ministers and officials, such as Baronness Goldie and Natalie Black, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia-Pacific, and to attend women in business networking events with other Chambers, conferences on held by UN Women and to speak on panels at Korea University and at the British Deputy Ambassadors’Conference .  

Having secured funding from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office, The Chamber organsied for the programme to culminate in a trip to the UK, where the cohort visited the House of Lords and met with UK organisations including the British Chambers of Commerce. Their experiences during the year-long Programme inspired the cohort to write and publish a book, which is now on sale in Korea, and empowers other women in business.  

The Chamber launched the second cohort in June 2024. The success of first year has enabled us to secure partnerships with UN Women Korea as well as with Hyundai Motors. Support from these major organisations will ensure the Programme’s ongoing success.  

The Empower Programme directly benefits and supports Chamber members:  

While the Empower Programme is open to all mid-level women in business in Korea, approximately 50% of places go to applicants from BCCK member companies. BCCK members can also be business partners, , providing half-day workshops for the cohort. Korean branches of Deloitte, Diageo, HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover have all participated by providing workshops, access to role models as well as training. In turn the Chamber promotes these companies as champions of gender equality in Korea. Following their workshop, Robin Colgan, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rower Korea, wrote “ I was looking for a project like this but was unsure where to start. Your initiative was very welcome and we are glad to be a part of it”. The Chamber also connected the cohort with our member company,Dulwich College Seoul, providing mentors for their students.  

The Empower Programme has had a positive local impact on the cohort members and on the wider Chamber community: The Empower Programme has achieved measurable results for the first cohort with seven promotions, five new or expanded roles, and two Board positions achieved during the course of the Programme. Empower has provided the cohort with a supportive community of peers and a network of friends in the BCCK and the Embassy, from whom they can seek advice, mentoring or introductions. The Empower Programme has changed the demographic of the people attending BCCK events. We previously struggled to attract junior and mid-level women to our events. However, since getting to know the Chamber through the Programme, the cohort felt confident to come to our events and started to bring their colleagues and friends.  

The Empower Programme has increased our collaborations and strengthened our relationships with stakeholders in particular the British Embassy Seoul and the British Chambers of Commerce and developing a new relationship with UN Women: The Chamber works closely with the Embassy to plan the Programme, chairing a joint committee, and this has led to increased opportunities for the cohort but also for our members in general, with Chamber members being invited to lunches and roundtables with visiting Ministers. The Programme has also led to us getting to know the British Chamber of Commerce better with cohort members invited into the Head Office during their visit to London in March 2023. As a result of The Empower Programme, the Chamber entered into a corportate partnership with UN Women Korea in June 2024, their first corporate partnership in Korea and we will host joint workshops to promote the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles.  

The Empower Programme has developed a new revenue stream for the Chamber The success of the first year of the Programme meant that sponsorship was able to be raised for the second year of the Programme. The funds raised will be used for a dedicated resource to oversee and grow Empower for years to come..  

The Empower Programme has increased the profile of the Chamber leading to increased membership The Chamber’s membership revenue grew by 25% in 2023. Empower has raised the profile of the Chamber gaining traditional and social media coverage, which resulted in increased membership inquiries. Feedback from many new members is that the activities organised by the Chamber to raise awareness for gender equality have been a major factor in their decision to join. As an example, in June 2024, the Chamber was invited to particpate in the Korea Times gender equality forum as a result of Empower alongside Ambassadors and Government Ministers. Following the Forum, the Chamber was featured on the front page of the Korea Times.  

The Empower Programme started as an initiative to empower women in business in Korea, then it became a platform where women in business empowered themselves, now the women in the Empower Programme empower others.

British Chamber of Commerce in Korea Presentation