CHALLENGING GENDER STEREOTYPES
Young Allies Programme: Empowering Young Men to be Gender Equality Advocates
Our Young Allies Programme empowers university-age men to become advocates for gender equality and inclusive leadership in Hong Kong through mentorship, workshops, and hands-on learning.
We engage young men in gender equality allyship with the following objectives:
Challenge gender norms
Encourage young men to reflect on their roles in the lives of women and girls within their communities, and understand how gender norms shape their influence and privilege.
Increase gender awareness & inclusive leadership skills
Expose young men to opportunities that increase gender awareness and inclusive leadership skills, and actively address gender inequality through the guidance of Male Allies who serve as mentors.
Create a network of long-term advocates for gender equality
Build up a network of young male allies who become long-term advocates to support gender equality, ultimately becoming future inclusive leaders and champions of gender equality.
Programme Highlights
Male students who:
- study full-time in any Hong Kong tertiary institutions
- wish to understand gender equality and gender-based stereotypes in their lives
- aspire to be future male allies and leaders who advocate for gender equality
Business leaders who have participated in The Women's Foundation Male Allies Programme and who:
- leverage their influence to advance gender equality within their organisations and across the Hong Kong business community
- embrace the need for gender equality, improve their workplace as well as their own work and personal lives
- will develop and utilise skills to empower young men in exploring and deepening their understanding of gender equality
- Empowering the next generation of Hong Kongers to be allies for gender equality and engaging with this future workforce through opportunities to host DE&I related work shadowing or other workshops
- Offer advice on programme strategies and impacts through the Young Allies Programme Steering Committee
- Strengthen your employer brand by accelerating your organisation's commitment to the SDGs by strengthening the "S" in your ESG goals through demonstrating your commitment to advancing gender equality
Why the Young Allies Programme Matters
How To Apply
Are you a forward-thinking university student seeking to grow your potential and amplify your impact? The Young Allies Programme is here for upcoming leaders who are ready to embrace a more diverse, equitable and inclusive future. Building and honing inclusive leadership, gender awareness and allyship skills are crucial for your leadership journey and personal development.
Our Programme offers you the chance to learn more about yourself, and understand the skills and attitudes needed to champion gender equality and inclusive practices. You'll have access to workshops, mentorship, work shadowing and a network of like-minded industry leaders who are committed to creating a more equitable society.
By joining the Young Allies Programme, you'll sharpen your leadership and communication skills, gain an in-depth understanding of allyship, develop critical Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) skills, and become part of a vibrant community that champions gender equality and inclusion.
Join us and become a certified Young Ally for change!
Apply & Enquiries
Click here to apply as a mentee for 2025 – 26 Young Allies. Application deadline is October 12, 2025. Shortlisted applicants will be notified in October and invited to join an online interview. Successful applicants will be notified by the end of October and will receive more information about the Programme.
If you have any questions about the application or the Programme, please contact our team at community@twfhk.org.
Testimonial
Hear from our Young Allies Participants
What I have learned from the Programme workshops and mentoring...allows me to recognise and challenge the systemic barriers and discrimination that women are facing. I can better put myself in women’s shoes and understand other people’s perspectives. As a Young Ally, I will definitely use my knowledge to actively support and advocate for gender equality and women's empowerment, particularly marginalised groups.
If I could use one word to describe this Programme, I would definitely use “Impactful” because every workshop and every mentorship meeting with a Male Ally, had an impact on me.
Impact
university age men have been empowered to become active allies for gender equality since the Programme pilot in 2023.
Timeline
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER
September
Application Opens
October 12
Application Closes
OCTOBER
Online Interviews with shortlisted candidates
Notification of Selected Participants
NOVEMBER - MAY
Workshops
From these workshops, you will learn how to empower yourself, empower others and empower change. Workshops will be highly interactive and engaging, based on an experiential learning approach. They are expected to take place in the evening or on weekends.
In addition to a Meet and Greet session in November, there will be four workshops over the course of seven months covering topics such as diverse masculinities, privilege and allyship.
NOVEMBER-JULY
Monthly mentorship sessions with senior male executives
MARCH – JUNE
Work Shadowing / Action for change
JULY
Closing Event
The closing event will be an opportunity for all the mentees and mentors to reconnect and share learnings, opportunities and experiences from the Young Allies Programme. Supporting Partners and other stakeholders will also join the event. All mentees who attend at least 80% of the workshops and mentoring sessions and pledge to be a proactive champion for gender equality, will be presented with a certificate and become an official Young Ally for change.
steering committee
We are very grateful to have a terrific Steering Committee to guide the development and implementation of the Programme, including:
Dr. Anita K.W. Chan
Associate Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies
Education University of Hong Kong
Lukas Ka Yu Chan
Young Allies 2023-24
Brian Henderson
Founder and Director
Whole Business Wellness Limited
Raymond Leung
General Manager - Strategy Development & Greater Bay Area
HAECO Group
Karndeep Singh
Young Allies 2023-24
Betty Wan
Director, Human Resources (Group Organisation Development & Talent)
CLP
partnerships & sponsorships
We are extremely grateful for the grants and support we received from the following sponsors and partners
Corporate Sponsor
Capital Group, CLP, EMpower
Supporting Partners
Hong Kong China Rugby, Equal Opportunities Commission, Equal Opportunity Unit of The University of Hong Kong, Family Planning Association
Training Partner
Dramatic Difference
If you are interested in learning more about supporting this programme, please Contact Us.
