"Hong Kong’s Outdated Values— and Women’s Invisible Enemy" by Sum Yi Lau Alicia

“Let your brother take care of it! Boys are stronger.” 

“Do the housework now or you won’t be able to take care of the family!” 

Growing up, I was surrounded by these little remarks that I once thought were gestures of  love, completely oblivious to the dangerous disparity hidden in their words— the very words  that most Chinese seniors utter to children daily.  

At first glance, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China has achieved some  semblance of gender equality. The status of women exceeds that of mainland China, with an undergraduate sex ratio of 52.3 females to 47.7 males (1), and more than half of the workforce  made up of women (2). Yet, look closely and you will see behind the facade. Women are not  well represented at senior levels— female participation rate falls as seniority rises, with  41% being women in mid-level management levels, 29% at senior management levels (3). Why is this female brain drain happening? The answer is simple: the outdated values we receive in  our childhood. 

Parents, teachers, and peers play a significant role in our childhood. They display their deeply  entrenched Confucian values through their actions and speech, often unconsciously, and  gradually instill in us these problematic values.  

Just how catastrophic is this challenge to females? Let us see the deep-rooted inequality in  Confucian values: male superiority. Most of us are unaware that boys are still expected to be  stronger, smarter and more responsible, which is evident through the average conversation  within a Hong Kong family. Media enhances the phenomenon, displaying most women as the  weak to be rescued by men. This leads to an asymmetrical power balance between men and  women, a remnant of the traditional patriarchal family structure. This can be seen through the  prevalence of sexual harassment and violence in the society, though it is highly underreported  due to the prevalent mindset of inferiority in women. 

Male superiority is reflected in the asymmetry in gender roles, yet another damaging gender  stigma. In Chinese culture, women are expected to be housewives doing work that seemingly  does not require the superior strength of a male. Yet as workload increases up the  management levels, it becomes increasingly strenuous for women to maintain a work-life  balance, leading to high stress levels. With working hours as high as 51.5 hours per week,  most women sacrifice their chance of promotion, burdened by the traditional gender divisions  of labour (4). The labour force participation rate for never-married women was 69.5% in 2020  as opposed to ever-married women at 48.4%, partly reflecting that more married women might exit the labour force after marriage (5). Adding to this is the lack of role models and  microaggression women face at work. Even if women reach higher positions, they are  required to assert masculine traits of dominance to garner respect.  

The problem is exacerbated when most Hong Kong people are fed with values of patriarchy  that build up stereotypes. Most of us associate leaders with men, so we are hardly aware of  the lack of diversity among senior positions— less than a quarter of large corporations and  companies actively track their female talent (6). With women failing to reach senior  management positions, awareness of the men-favoring structure of workplaces stays low, and  companies remain more hostile to women than to men, a green light for this vicious cycle to  perpetuate.  

Hong Kong people must be made aware of this problem. To do this, we need public  education to address gender stereotypes and to break structural constraints: gender must be  portrayed as a social phenomenon, rather than a personal matter for women. Children must be  taught about gender equality; the media must focus on the ability of a woman rather than their  appearances; the public must learn to share family responsibilities. We need family-friendly  policies, such as flexible working hours and extended parental leave for males and females,  so that they may both perform child-rearing and family-caring duties.  

Our values are long outdated in a world that demands equality. It is high time women and  girls should be treated equally with not only respect, but also fair job opportunities and  rightfully high positions. 

(1) Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Women and Men in  Hong Kong Key Statistics 2021  

Editionhttps://www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/data/stat_report/product/B1130303/att/B11303032021AN21B0 100.pdf 

(2) City University of Hong Kong, Gender Roles and Media Images, 2014,  

https://www.cityu.edu.hk/upress/pub/media//catalog/product/files/9789629372262_preview.pdf

(3) The University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Business and Economics, Meraki Executive Search &  Consulting, Hong Kong’s Female Talent Pipeline, https://www.wdp-international.com/diversity research 

(4) Kisi, Cities With Best Work-Life Balance, https://www.getkisi.com/work-life-balance-2021

(5) Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Women and Men in  Hong Kong Key Statistics 2021  

Editionhttps://www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/data/stat_report/product/B1130303/att/B11303032021AN21B0 100.pdf 

(6) The University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Business and Economics, Meraki Executive Search &  Consulting, Hong Kong’s Female Talent Pipeline, https://www.wdp-international.com/diversity research