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Empowerment and self-love are central to social group Hong Kong Girl’s Power’s ethos.

No men allowed: female-only events seek to connect women in search of meaningful friendships

Social group Hong Kong Girl’s Power encourages women to make time for themselves, and make friends too, at first event

For women struggling to form meaningful friend­ships in the city, attending a party thrown by new no-men-allowed social group Hong Kong Girl’s Power could be the solution – or so its organiser hopes. Toby Tao is launching a series of events with activities designed to get women mingling, starting with a party on Saturday in Tsim Sha Tsui. As an entrepreneur whose achievements include founding a modelling agency and investing in a chain of cake shops, Tao invites those in similarly fast-paced careers to take time out for a bit of fun.

“This event is about self-love,” she says. “It’s easy to forget about yourself when your kids are running around or your boss is asking you to work overtime. We need to take time for ourselves. Self-care means having the confidence to stand up for yourself and say no to things. It’s about understanding your values and putting yourself first.”

Mind the gender gap – women in Asia

Founded in 2012, Tao’s modelling agency, Divine, now boasts hundreds of faces on its books, which came at the expense of her social life, she says. “My mind was so busy with my com­pany that I lost lots of friends. Once you’ve been invited to things lots of times but have kept rejecting them because you’re too busy, people stop asking you out.”

Party-goers can look forward to manicures, a photo booth and tarot reading on the night, but once her net­work is better established, Tao plans to host financial education and career-planning workshops along with meditation and yoga classes.

Toby Tao. Picture: Toby Tao

A far cry from the bikini modelling competi­tions Divine hosted in 2014, Girl’s Power is indi­cative of the spotlight on female empower­ment in 2019 – though “male models serving food” is a selling point of the event. Does that mean shirtless? “No,” says Tao. “We’re trying to keep it classy.”

Girl’s Power Event 2019 will be held on Saturday, at 7pm, at 9/F, 33 Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tickets are priced at HK$800 and are available at ticketflap.com.

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