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Press Release

Results on Survey regarding Women’s Status in the Workplace

The Women’s Commission (WoC) released today (February 14) the results on a survey regarding the perception of women and men in Hong Kong towards women’s status at work as well as women’s economic participation.

The Chairperson of WoC, Ms Sophia Kao said, “the major finding of the survey was that more than 70% of the society believed that discrimination against women in the workplace was still common.

In addition, the survey results indicated that family responsibility was the major reason that kept women from working. The survey also revealed that a quarter of women did not wish to have a very successful career development. Among all marital status, more than 40% of married/cohabiting women with child(ren) shared this view, which was significantly higher than women of other marital status.”

According to the survey, more than 80% of people agreed that having a job was the best way for a woman to be independent, indicating a general view that there was a direct relationship between women’s job and independence. However, almost 60% of people agreed that women had to sacrifice more than men in order to achieve career success. The percentage of women who agreed that “an increase in the number of successful women was a positive social phenomenon” was markedly higher than that of men, which suggested that men had a more traditional gender concept.

Although women are legally protected against discrimination under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance and the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance, most people still considered that discrimination against women in the workplace was still common. Such discrimination includes difference in income and promotion prospect, as well as chances of employment for pregnant women and those who had responsibility for the care of family members. Separately, nearly 30% of people thought that sexual harassment against female employees was common in the workplace. The figure requires our attention.

More than 70% of the society believed that men stood a better chance of promotion than women of similar age or with similar abilities. At the same time, the identity of women was an obstacle in women’s career development. It reflected a general view that women’s promotion prospect was still limited by the “glass ceiling”.

The survey also showed that among the women who were neither studying nor having a full-time job, “having to look after other family members” and “having to do housework” were the main causes that prevent them from looking for a job. This reflected that family responsibility was the major reason that kept women from seeking employment.

The promotion of family-friendly employment practices was seen as an effective means to create a more favourable environment for women to join the employment market. The survey showed a good sign in that around 70% of people agreed that employers or supervisors were willing to allow their staff to take leaves or time offs to handle family matters; and nearly 70% of people also agreed that employers would allow staff to work in flexitime upon mutual agreement.

On women’s career expectation, the survey found that a quarter of women and more than one-fifth of married/cohabiting men said that they did not want themselves/their companions to be very successful in their career. The main reasons given were related to family responsibility in general. The findings revealed that some members of the society thought that there were conflicts between commitment at work and family duties and these two things could not coexist.

As in the previous parts on women’s status at home and in social environments, the survey invited men to rate their spouse’s/ companion’s status and women to rate their own status in the workplace on a 1-5 point scale. The findings showed that women’s status in the workplace scored an average of 3.32 points, lower than that of their status at home (3.60) and in social environments (3.35). However, the survey also indicated that the level of happiness of working women were higher than that of non-working women.

“The results suggested that economic independence might have a positive effect on the level of happiness of women,” said Ms Kao.

WoC commissioned Policy 21 Limited to conduct the survey entitled “What do Women and Men in Hong Kong Think about the Status of Women at Home, Work and in Social Environments?” between February and May 2010, during which a total of 3 002 Hong Kong residents within a scientifically selected sample were successfully enumerated by means of face-to-face interviews. The above survey results had been weighted in proportion to the latest demographics of Hong Kong to reflect the situation of Hong Kong’s population aged 18 or above.

The survey results concerning family and social environments have been announced in November 2010 and last month respectively. The results announced today regarding work was the last part of the whole survey.

Highlights of the survey findings are available on WoC’s website (https://www.women.gov.hk).

14 February, 2011 (Monday)