WISTA and the South Street Seaport Museum
Keynote Speech by Angela A. Chao
Senior Vice President, Foremost Group
South Street Seaport Museum and the NY/NJ/CT chapter of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA)
New York City
February 27, 2007
Senior Vice President, Foremost Group
South Street Seaport Museum and the NY/NJ/CT chapter of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA)
New York City
February 27, 2007
Thank you, Clay, for that very kind introduction. Thank you also, Clay, for generously sponsoring this luncheon today! Thank you to the Boards of WISTA and the South Street Seaport Museum for inviting me today, and thank you, Mary, for being so instrumental in putting today’s luncheon together.
I am also honored to be here today in front of my parents, Dr. James Chao and Mrs. Ruth Chao, my sisters May Chao and Grace Chao, and Grace’s husband Gordon, our President, Mr. Michael Lee and several of my colleagues, Lucy Zhang, Peng Wu, and Joyce Tsoi. I would also like to thank the many friends that have come out in support today; your presence here is very appreciated.
We are here together in the beautiful South Street Seaport Museum, and many of us had the opportunity to take a tour and enjoy important US and NY maritime history. If you did not have the chance, do take the time to enjoy the museum and its wonderful exhibits. This is the first year that the South Street Seaport Museum has combined their annual maritime luncheon with WISTA, so we are creating a little bit of history ourselves today! What better way to not only talk about, but to demonstrate, the industry’s history and its progress than with such a combined luncheon.
I always considered history important because it teaches us lessons, and reminds us to whom and for what we should be thankful. This museum’s mission is to preserve and interpret the history of New York City as a world port – a place where goods, labor and cultures are exchanged through work, commerce and the interactions of diverse communities. WISTA’s credo is to promote and advance the interests of women involved in shipping and trading and to facilitate an exchange of contacts and experiences among its members. As a native New Yorker, and a woman, I am honored to celebrate those histories today with you.
NY’s long and crucial role in maritime history of not only the region, but the entire country is well documented by this museum, its exhibits, and its many and varied public programs. Women’s history in shipping is longer than you might think, though. In researching this talk, I was delighted to find just how long the tradition of women in maritime history is. As far back as the 1700’s, there are incredibly brave and adventurous stories of women posing as men just so they could have the chance to sail ships! There is even evidence of female pirates in the 1700’s as well! It was only in the late 1800’s that women could serve onboard ocean liners as themselves, and then it was only as stewards and cooks. In 1857, though, Mary Patten, an American, became the only woman to take command of a clipper ship, but this was only after the Captain, who happened to be her husband or else she would not have even been onboard, was incapacitated. But she showed them, because she took command, and she was pregnant at the time! Finally, in 1935, Anna Shetinina became the world’s first woman captain of an ocean going merchant ship.
But sailing is not all there is to maritime history. Ida Lewis’s father was the lighthouse keeper in Newport, Rhode Island, but he suffered a stroke soon after taking the post, and so he relied on Ida to carry out his duties, thus preserving the family’s income. After his passing, she was made the lighthouse keeper and by the end of her career was credited with saving 18 lives, and her lighthouse was renamed after her in 1924, the only lighthouse named after its keeper.
Being in this museum and thinking about our two hosts, the Board of the South Street Seaport Museum and WISTA, today, I thought that this long and illustrious maritime history warranted reflection and gratitude. And so I also wanted to share a little bit of my personal history – both maritime and as a woman - and what motivates me to be here.
I was fortunate to have grown up in a family of strong women (and one very strong man, my Dad! But this is about my Mom, so we’ll save my Dad for another day….). My mother’s Chinese name is “Mu-Lan”, an old Chinese legend that was popularized in the West by the Disney movie of the same name. As many of you know, the story is about a brave, young girl who disguises herself as a boy and takes her elderly father’s place in the army draft to save her father’s life and preserve the family honor. My mother, who I am so thankful and proud to say, is with us here today, is a shining personification of the legend’s values. And all of us, as her daughters, hope that we have her strength, her will, and her dignity, in the face of all circumstances.
And so this speech is for my Mom – because we don’t have as many chances as we would like to say how much we love our mothers, and just how proud and thankful we are to have them in our lives.
My mother grew up in China when the country was in turmoil by foreign invasion and civil war. She was driven out of her home by the Japanese invasion and then by the civil fighting, but at the age of only 8 years old, she made clandestine trips home, having to pass through various checkpoints, to visit her ailing Grandmother, who the occupiers would allow to stay because of her advanced age and poor health, and sew gold bars into her jacket to bring back to her family to survive on. Obviously, these trips were dangerous, life-threatening, but she was proud to be able to contribute to her entire family’s well-being through very uncertain times.
After she and my father married, he was still sailing and serving onboard ships. They would be separated for months, at a time when letters, which could only be sent and received while he was in port, was the only economically viable means of communication. Phones and faxes were far too expensive, and emails were many years away still. One day my father received her letter that their home had been severely damaged by a typhoon. Despite the enormous expense, but because of the dire circumstances, he called my mother. My mother, of course, could not wait for him to receive the letter and reply, and so she had already found a way to take the necessary measures to ensure her children were safe and the home was repaired.
When my father considered pursuing further studies in America to strive for a better future, my mother fully encouraged and supported him to do so. She did so even knowing that she would again be alone, a young mother with three children and a husband halfway round the world, trading a comfortable life for an uncertain future in an unknown land.
My parents ended up being separated for three long years, as my mother struggled to keep it together at home, and my father struggled to build a new life in America. Even after my father was finally able to bring my mother and my three older sisters to America, I can’t help but think that this must have been met with mixed feelings. Finally, the family would be reunited, and my parents could be together, but they had been separated for three years with totally different experiences, and their new life would be completely different than anything my mother had known before. On top of this, my mother would have to learn a new language and a new culture, and all the while being the backbone of a family with three small children.
Needless to say, my parents survived and overcame with flying colors! They ended up raising six children together, and have been happily married for over 50 years.
The woman theme runs deep in my family as all six children are daughters, and it is not easy raising a family of 6 women! There are the obvious financial pressures of feeding and educating 6 children, but there is also the social pressure of people’s comments like, “oh that’s a lot of weddings to pay for!”, or “oh, so you kept trying for a son, eh?” And as daughters, we would find those comments endless and trying. My mother would always tell us, though, not just to roll our eyes, but to do something about it. She would say, don’t complain or get angry – just show them that they’re wrong.
And so now I add each of my sisters as my role models, each a pioneer in her own way. I like to think that we all have a piece of my mother in us, and that we reflect her will, her strength and her indomitable spirit. She’s always so modest – whenever I say to her, ‘I want to be just like you when I grow up, Mom!’ (and I still say it!) – she says, ‘No! You’re going to be better!’. But I know, and I think now you all know, just how high a bar that is.
Ever since I was a young girl, I have wanted to be in shipping. As the last of 6 daughters, I graduated university a year early so that I could join the family business. Much to my chagrin, when I told my parents of the decision, they told me to get my training elsewhere! So I worked in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department of what is now Citigroup and learned how to work in a professional environment, what deadlines meant, and how to take being treated terribly and work until you were utterly exhausted. Afterwards, I joined Foremost for almost two years before going to business school, where I took the time to re-assess if this is really what I wanted to do. After graduating from Business School, I decided it was and have been with the company ever since.
I am so excited to be in this industry. We are the industry that brings the world together – we bring goods from those who have them to those who need them thereby cultivating good will and good faith among people across nations and, I think, making the world a better place.
I am also proud to be a woman in this industry. That is not to say the industry is without its challenges. Women still comprise a minority of the players, and this is particularly true at the upper echelons. But that’s where I hope that many of us in this room today will make a difference. We have many who came before us to thank, and I hope that there will be many – both women and men - in generations to come that will thank us for our efforts and contributions. I look forward to building that future together with you all.
Thank you all for your time, and bon appetit!
Angela Chao
I am also honored to be here today in front of my parents, Dr. James Chao and Mrs. Ruth Chao, my sisters May Chao and Grace Chao, and Grace’s husband Gordon, our President, Mr. Michael Lee and several of my colleagues, Lucy Zhang, Peng Wu, and Joyce Tsoi. I would also like to thank the many friends that have come out in support today; your presence here is very appreciated.
We are here together in the beautiful South Street Seaport Museum, and many of us had the opportunity to take a tour and enjoy important US and NY maritime history. If you did not have the chance, do take the time to enjoy the museum and its wonderful exhibits. This is the first year that the South Street Seaport Museum has combined their annual maritime luncheon with WISTA, so we are creating a little bit of history ourselves today! What better way to not only talk about, but to demonstrate, the industry’s history and its progress than with such a combined luncheon.
I always considered history important because it teaches us lessons, and reminds us to whom and for what we should be thankful. This museum’s mission is to preserve and interpret the history of New York City as a world port – a place where goods, labor and cultures are exchanged through work, commerce and the interactions of diverse communities. WISTA’s credo is to promote and advance the interests of women involved in shipping and trading and to facilitate an exchange of contacts and experiences among its members. As a native New Yorker, and a woman, I am honored to celebrate those histories today with you.
NY’s long and crucial role in maritime history of not only the region, but the entire country is well documented by this museum, its exhibits, and its many and varied public programs. Women’s history in shipping is longer than you might think, though. In researching this talk, I was delighted to find just how long the tradition of women in maritime history is. As far back as the 1700’s, there are incredibly brave and adventurous stories of women posing as men just so they could have the chance to sail ships! There is even evidence of female pirates in the 1700’s as well! It was only in the late 1800’s that women could serve onboard ocean liners as themselves, and then it was only as stewards and cooks. In 1857, though, Mary Patten, an American, became the only woman to take command of a clipper ship, but this was only after the Captain, who happened to be her husband or else she would not have even been onboard, was incapacitated. But she showed them, because she took command, and she was pregnant at the time! Finally, in 1935, Anna Shetinina became the world’s first woman captain of an ocean going merchant ship.
But sailing is not all there is to maritime history. Ida Lewis’s father was the lighthouse keeper in Newport, Rhode Island, but he suffered a stroke soon after taking the post, and so he relied on Ida to carry out his duties, thus preserving the family’s income. After his passing, she was made the lighthouse keeper and by the end of her career was credited with saving 18 lives, and her lighthouse was renamed after her in 1924, the only lighthouse named after its keeper.
Being in this museum and thinking about our two hosts, the Board of the South Street Seaport Museum and WISTA, today, I thought that this long and illustrious maritime history warranted reflection and gratitude. And so I also wanted to share a little bit of my personal history – both maritime and as a woman - and what motivates me to be here.
I was fortunate to have grown up in a family of strong women (and one very strong man, my Dad! But this is about my Mom, so we’ll save my Dad for another day….). My mother’s Chinese name is “Mu-Lan”, an old Chinese legend that was popularized in the West by the Disney movie of the same name. As many of you know, the story is about a brave, young girl who disguises herself as a boy and takes her elderly father’s place in the army draft to save her father’s life and preserve the family honor. My mother, who I am so thankful and proud to say, is with us here today, is a shining personification of the legend’s values. And all of us, as her daughters, hope that we have her strength, her will, and her dignity, in the face of all circumstances.
And so this speech is for my Mom – because we don’t have as many chances as we would like to say how much we love our mothers, and just how proud and thankful we are to have them in our lives.
My mother grew up in China when the country was in turmoil by foreign invasion and civil war. She was driven out of her home by the Japanese invasion and then by the civil fighting, but at the age of only 8 years old, she made clandestine trips home, having to pass through various checkpoints, to visit her ailing Grandmother, who the occupiers would allow to stay because of her advanced age and poor health, and sew gold bars into her jacket to bring back to her family to survive on. Obviously, these trips were dangerous, life-threatening, but she was proud to be able to contribute to her entire family’s well-being through very uncertain times.
After she and my father married, he was still sailing and serving onboard ships. They would be separated for months, at a time when letters, which could only be sent and received while he was in port, was the only economically viable means of communication. Phones and faxes were far too expensive, and emails were many years away still. One day my father received her letter that their home had been severely damaged by a typhoon. Despite the enormous expense, but because of the dire circumstances, he called my mother. My mother, of course, could not wait for him to receive the letter and reply, and so she had already found a way to take the necessary measures to ensure her children were safe and the home was repaired.
When my father considered pursuing further studies in America to strive for a better future, my mother fully encouraged and supported him to do so. She did so even knowing that she would again be alone, a young mother with three children and a husband halfway round the world, trading a comfortable life for an uncertain future in an unknown land.
My parents ended up being separated for three long years, as my mother struggled to keep it together at home, and my father struggled to build a new life in America. Even after my father was finally able to bring my mother and my three older sisters to America, I can’t help but think that this must have been met with mixed feelings. Finally, the family would be reunited, and my parents could be together, but they had been separated for three years with totally different experiences, and their new life would be completely different than anything my mother had known before. On top of this, my mother would have to learn a new language and a new culture, and all the while being the backbone of a family with three small children.
Needless to say, my parents survived and overcame with flying colors! They ended up raising six children together, and have been happily married for over 50 years.
The woman theme runs deep in my family as all six children are daughters, and it is not easy raising a family of 6 women! There are the obvious financial pressures of feeding and educating 6 children, but there is also the social pressure of people’s comments like, “oh that’s a lot of weddings to pay for!”, or “oh, so you kept trying for a son, eh?” And as daughters, we would find those comments endless and trying. My mother would always tell us, though, not just to roll our eyes, but to do something about it. She would say, don’t complain or get angry – just show them that they’re wrong.
And so now I add each of my sisters as my role models, each a pioneer in her own way. I like to think that we all have a piece of my mother in us, and that we reflect her will, her strength and her indomitable spirit. She’s always so modest – whenever I say to her, ‘I want to be just like you when I grow up, Mom!’ (and I still say it!) – she says, ‘No! You’re going to be better!’. But I know, and I think now you all know, just how high a bar that is.
Ever since I was a young girl, I have wanted to be in shipping. As the last of 6 daughters, I graduated university a year early so that I could join the family business. Much to my chagrin, when I told my parents of the decision, they told me to get my training elsewhere! So I worked in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department of what is now Citigroup and learned how to work in a professional environment, what deadlines meant, and how to take being treated terribly and work until you were utterly exhausted. Afterwards, I joined Foremost for almost two years before going to business school, where I took the time to re-assess if this is really what I wanted to do. After graduating from Business School, I decided it was and have been with the company ever since.
I am so excited to be in this industry. We are the industry that brings the world together – we bring goods from those who have them to those who need them thereby cultivating good will and good faith among people across nations and, I think, making the world a better place.
I am also proud to be a woman in this industry. That is not to say the industry is without its challenges. Women still comprise a minority of the players, and this is particularly true at the upper echelons. But that’s where I hope that many of us in this room today will make a difference. We have many who came before us to thank, and I hope that there will be many – both women and men - in generations to come that will thank us for our efforts and contributions. I look forward to building that future together with you all.
Thank you all for your time, and bon appetit!
Angela Chao