By Dr. Kevin Lau
Educated individuals understand that gender equality is a fundamental human right. Moreover, it is a necessary foundation for a society to achieve peace, prosperity, and sustainable development. Due to the promotion of universal education and government efforts, progress has been made in gender equality in many countries over the past few decades. However, the situation is still far from ideal in many regions. The United Nations even predicts that at the current pace of progress, it will take an estimated 300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to narrow the gender gap in legal protection, eliminate all discriminatory laws, 140 years to achieve workplace gender equality in terms of power and leadership positions for women, and 47 years to achieve equal representation of both genders in national parliaments.
Of course, the benefits of gender equality are not only evident at the conceptual level. In Hong Kong, women make up 54% of the total population, and they play a significant role in society. The government, in its Policy Address last year, announced the establishment of the "Women Empowerment Fund" as a funding initiative to support women in balancing employment and family responsibilities. Starting from the 2023-2024 financial year, the annual allocation for the " Women Empowerment Fund" will be increased from HK$10 million to HK$20 million to support related programs organized by women's groups and non-governmental organizations.
In my view, the government's approach is very appropriate. By increasing resources to promote the development of women in Hong Kong in the areas of family, workplace, and society, and by providing tangible support such as childcare services and promoting family-friendly employment policies, the potential female workforce will be further unleashed. This will undoubtedly have a positive alleviating effect on the current situation in various industries in Hong Kong that are suffering from labor shortages.
In fact, Hong Kong has laid a solid foundation in terms of gender equality. As early as 1996, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was introduced, and the rights and interests of women in education, politics, employment, and labor have been comprehensively protected through the Basic Law, local legislation, and administrative measures. The government has also strengthened the scope of protection under anti-discrimination legislation through the enactment of the Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2020, including prohibiting harassment between co-workers and the discrimination against breastfeeding women that we often see in television advertisements.
However, there is still room for improvement in safeguarding women's rights in Hong Kong. Building upon the aforementioned solid foundation, the government needs to ensure that Hong Kong adheres to relevant international conventions on women's affairs. On a practical level, women's work involves various areas such as education, employment, healthcare, discrimination, and social welfare support. The government has a responsibility to coordinate the efforts of different departments to provide relevant assistance in these areas.
The author is a specialist in radiology, with a master degree of Public Health from the University of Hong Kong, and an adviser of Our Hong Kong Foundation.
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