International Women’s Day is a global celebration that honours all the great achievements, landmarks and milestones that women from all over the world have achieved. 

It is also a day that raises awareness about equal rights for women and reminds people to continue to fight for equality. 

At Hape we are committed to gender equality and the empowerment of women. We promote our female employee’s development and advancement within the organisation and encourage them to take leadership roles. The proportion of senior and middle management roles held by women at Hape globally is nearly 49%, and we aspire to increase this number steadily.

This year we are proud to highlight the stories of six of our incredible female employees and their personal journeys at Hape.

Vivien, Jiali Zheng

General Manager at Playwell Canada (Part of Hape Group)

18 Years at Hape

“My name is Vivien (Jiali) Zheng, I work as a General Manager for Playwell Canada, which is part of the Hape Group.

I joined Hape in 2004 right after graduating from university.

During my 18 years of working for Hape, I have been able to gain valuable experience in a variety of different fields, including product sourcing, product development, customer service, sales, marketing, operations and more. I have never stopped learning and believe that school is not the only place for study. I listen attentively to the people around me, I observe how they address different audiences and how they give solutions to problems. Finally, I regard the outcomes and achievements of my projects as valuable learning experiences. This habit has helped me to retain my energy and motivation at all times. At Hape I have been extremely fortunate to have the freedom to try, learn and grow.”

Maggie, Yingying Qiu

Vice President

20 years at Hape

“My name is Maggie (Yingying) Qiu, I am a Vice President leading the North American Market and the Chinese TY Team. Apart from being a Vice President at Hape, I am also a mother of two lovely daughters. Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate every woman on the planet. I hope that on this very special day every woman will find their own happiness.

With this in mind, I’d like to share two guiding principles that have helped me to be successful in both my professional and personal life. Firstly, believe in yourself and like what you do. No matter how old you are, have trust in yourself and enjoy what you are doing. I believe that being in harmony with oneself is the root of all success. Secondly, love and accept who you are. This will help you to stay positive. A happy mind is a healthy mind. 

Living by these guiding principles and having a leadership that promotes an inclusive and tolerant environment allowed me to focus on my career and has made me the woman I am today. For this I’d like to thank Hape and Peter Handstein.”

Maya 

Toy Designer 

7 years at Hape

“My name is Maya, I work as a Designer at Hape China. My passion for toy design came early on. Since graduation I developed a keen interest in playful things. It seemed only natural to me, therefore, to pursue a career in the toy industry. I consider myself very lucky to be a Toy Designer, because I can turn my ideas into reality and make my dreams come true. All of my creations are like my children. Some of them turn out beautifully, others look a bit silly but have interesting and fun features. I like working for Hape, because I keep moving forward, and I keep moving toward my dreams.”

Echo Xu

Category Manager

4 years at Hape

“My name is Echo Xu, I work as a Category Manager at Hape China. At Hape we live by the motto: “Love, Play, Learn”, we put “Love” first because mutual love between a parent and their child is the precondition for play and learning to happen. Being a mother myself I became curious, and wanted to learn more about this, so I started to read a lot of parenting-related articles. I discovered that the mutual love between a parent and their child can make a child feel more secure, hence they are more likely to develop a healthy mind and body. I believe that working for an educational toy manufacturer has helped me with my own child-rearing and made me a better mother. At the same time, being a mother has also helped me to develop better products for children. It has made me more sensitive and has given me a different perspective of our products.”

ShiXiu, Guo

Polishing Operator at Wood Workshop

12 years at Hape

“My name is Shi Xiu Guo, I work as a Polishing Operator for Hape China.

I grew up in a small village in Anhui Province. I came to Ningbo as a young migrant worker in search of decent work and better livelihoods. Before I started working for Hape I changed my jobs frequently. Wages, benefits and working conditions in smaller factories can be very different. I often felt like I didn’t belong there. But everything changed when I joined Hape. Hape provides me with an attractive employee benefit package. I feel welcome and respected here. And every now and then, when Mr. Handstein comes to visit the production floor, he will greet me personally, with a big smile and an open heart. ”

Haiyan Zhang

Carpenter 

16 years at Hape

“My name is Haiyan Zhang, I work as a Carpenter at Hape Ningbo. It’s been now 16 years for me working at Hape. A friend introduced me to the company, while I was telling her about the hardship, I was experiencing working for a different company. My friend strongly advised me to transfer to Hape, and so I did. I’ve never regretted my decision. I like working here and feel respected. 

A few years ago, when my sister-in-law was looking for a job here in Ningbo, I did not hesitate telling her: “come to Hape, you won’t regret it!”.