Five successful career women gave speeches at the recent Third Annual of Women and Youth Leadership Conference in Beijing.

The five spoke on this year's topic: "Traditions Refined by Women of Passion".

The discussions focused on the work-life balance for women in competitive careers and emerging industries, while also addressing the significant roles that careers play in women's lives and creating their identities.

The conference was held by Seven Sisters in China (SSC), a student-run organization that gathers a group of women student leaders from the Seven Sisters liberal arts colleges in the United States and top universities in China, aiming to empower future female leaders of China and aid them in their personal growth.

Fiona Lawrie, chief operator of Thirst, a Beijing-based non-governmental organization that focuses on preserving water recourses, shared her experience about what motivated her career path in charity, which is a new field for her.

Xue Xinran, a former BBC programmer and writer, gave a guest speech during the forum. Xue is the founder of "The Mother's Bridge of Love", a London-based organization that helps Chinese children adopted by people in different countries to understand Eastern and Western cultural better.

"Most volunteers of our organization are female, mostly Chinese students living in Britain," Xue said. "Girls got tremendous benefits by participating in these activities and learning more about society."

She also said that China right now is undergoing significant changes, which will bring changes to women's life.

Zhang Yuanyuan, another female guest speaker who founded an animal-protection organization in China, also stressed the importance of maintaining a balance between one's work and family life.