"I believe the 21st Century will
bring even more opportunities and choices and with them even greater confidence
for women ... The opportunities are as limitless as our creativity, imagination
and perseverance can carry us. We
should use these opportunities well, not only to enrich ourselves but to address
the many concerns of the new age."
Mrs.
Anson Chan, former Chief Secretary for Administration
Hong
Kong
SAR Government (Oct 13, 2000)
"Sex-role stereotypes often
create a belief that managerial attributes are masculine and managerial
positions are basically a masculine occupation (Fretz &Hayman, 1973; Rosen
& Jerdee, 1974). Such sex role stereotypes often barred women from
managerial position."
Stella
L.M. So and Kitty Y. Young
A
Study of Women’s Abilities In Managerial Positions: Male and Female
Perceptions 1
The
status and role of women is changing. Women are climbing up a long ladder to
achiever the same status as men. While they are climbing up the ladder, they
need to over come the traditional perceptions of gender stereotype.
‘Men
and women are difference!’ when they grow up girl is growing faster than boy.
Boys’ adolescence is about two years later than girls. Girls are good at
language and boys are good at logic.2 Beginning
from they were born, they have never been equal.
Men and
women perceive gender stereotype from the media. Men are more sensitive than
women, women are dependent on men, family is the best place for women, men
belong to workplace, men protect women, men make important decision.
1
Stella L.M. So and Kitty Y. Young (1991:156)
2 Mr. Kwok-sung Lee, Assistant Director of Education, Education Department, (2001) Gender and Learning, Perspectives of the Education Department, In Conference on “Boys and Girls in 21st Century”: Gender Differences in Learning
Gender
stereotype is a deep-rooted basic true in the society. Men is more capable than 
We will
never deny the virtue of mildness, sacrifice, sympathy, patience. And those
become the tool of gender restraint and help the men become the master of the
society.
In
traditional society, women would be ignored, but nowadays, Hong Kong is
difference.
Traditional
gender-based arises in division of household labour. Men should supervise and
discipline children while women should only look after children. Women respond
for household chores while men respond for maintaining and repairing of
household. Men decide for money use, e.g. investments, and buying furniture or
electronic appliances, women decide for schooling of children or having a baby.
And also only litter girl would help household work.
However,
men would help, women still are the main one to do housework even they have work
for full time job. But women can be helped by substitutes, such as durable, e.g.
washing machine and microwave oven, paid help, e.g. domestic help and child
caring center. 3 They would use less
time for household work. Decision is not only made by men, husbands and wives
would decide a decision together. Son and daughter would have to share
housework. Daughter can receives similar education and treatment as son though
some parents would not give heritage to daughter.
On one
hand, the greatest gender difference is women are paid less, less jog
opportunities. Married-women are always in juggling between family and work.
Salary would be cut or dismissed due to pregnancy. While men have more influence
affairs and hold more executive position in social organization, men are more
active participants than women in politics. And more men involve in
confrontational types of political activities.
3
Stella L.M. So and Kitty Y. Young (1991:157)
Three
of the 12 members of the Executive Council, the Chief Executives’ top
policy-making group, are women. They make up 19% (11 members) of the 60- seat
Legislative Council, including its President, Mrs.
Rita FAN HSU Lai-tai.
This
advance situation is not only for civil service, but also in business, in the
public affairs, community service.
However,
only tips of women have go to the top of the corporate ladder.
The
average years of education of men was higher the women, this difference id
decreasing with younger age. It means in past man could receive more education
than women.
And
now many couple don’t discriminate against girl to have education. Couple
would spend same amount for boy and girl in tuition, private tutoring,
traveling, pocket money. They would like to spend equally for son and daughter
in order to secure the best school or university education. So women and men
would more likely to have same chance of being educated.
The
main factor is that nine years of basic free education was introduced in 1978.
This is for all girl and boy up to the age of 15, also generous grant and loan
scheme for university students, help girls to ensure not deprived from
education. More young women graduate at Hong Kong tertiary institution, even
more than men. In very competitive subjects, e.g. business and law, the
percentage of female students has been about double that of males.
In
1995, the legislature passed the
Sex Discrimination Ordinance to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of sex
and to promote gender
equality in the community. This was followed a year later with the establishment
of the Equal Opportunities Commission, new laws on disability discrimination and
the status of the family, and the extension to Hong Kong of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
In January 2001, the Women's Commission was established to promote the
well-being and interests of women.
It will also arouse community
concern over matters affecting women and help eliminate long-standing
stereotypes and perceptions about what women should and should not do.
Status
of women has also improvement for some reason.
In 1996, the proud historic moment for Hong Kong when windsurf ring champion Lee Lai-san won a Olympic gold medallist at Atlanta Game. This is the first gold medallist for Hong Kong and is won by women. Lee Lai-san becomes a model for most young women and icon of windsurfing. In August 2001, she captured her third world title at the World Windsurfing Championships in Greece. Lee Lai-san won her first world title In Japan in 1993 and the second in Australia in 1997.
To
conclude, in Hong Kong, the status of women become higher and higher. The role
of women does not fixed to be traditional one. Their roles have mixed with role
of men. The thing that men can do women can also do it. Though the traditional
gender stereotype are deeply in our mind women do not only want to but also
force to change their role and have a more equal status with men. Women no
longer stay in the same status. It will change and improve. Or even one day it
may be higher than men in the future as more organization strives for right for
women.
Cheung, F. M., Lai, B. L. L., Au, K C., & Ngai, S. S. (1997). Gender role identity, stereotypes, and attitudes in Hong Kong. In F. M. Cheung (Ed.), Engendering Hong Kong society: A gender perspective of women's status (pp.201-235). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
Cheung, F. M., Wan, S. P., & Wan, O. C. (1994). The underdeveloped political potential of women in Hong Kong. In B. J. Nelson & N. Chowdhury (Eds.), Women and politics worldwide (pp.326-346). New Haven: Yale University Press.
Liu Hong-ji (1991),
Xiang Gang Da Zhuan Jiao Yu Zhong Fu Ru De Ji Gui. In Fanny M. Cheung,
Wan Po-san, Choi Hang-keung, Choy Lee-man (Ed.)
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Mimi
Chan (2000) All the King’s Women.
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So and Kitty Y. Young (1991),
A Study of Women’s Abilities In Managerial Positions: Male and Female
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Selected Paper of Conference in Gender Studies in
Chinese Societies.
(P155-166). Hong Kong Institute of Asia Pacific Studies—The Chinese University
of Hong Kong.
Westwood, R. I., Ngo, H. Y., & Leung, S. M. (1997). The politics of opportunity: Gender and work in Hong Kong. Part I: The gendered segmentation of the labour market. In F. M. Cheung (Ed.), Engendering Hong Kong society: A gender perspective of women's status (pp. 41-99). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press
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Wen-shen (1991). Zhong Guo Cheng Shi Fu Ru De Jia Ting De Wei De Bian Hua.
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A Baseline Survey on Equal Opportunities on the Basis of Gender Executive Summary
http://www.eoc.org.hk/research/no1/english/index.html
Census
&statistics Department
http://www.info.gov.hk/censtatd/chinese/hkstat/index2.html
Equal
Opportunities Commission, Hong Kong
http://www.eoc.org.hk/default.htm
Hong
Kong Report 1998-2000
http://members.hknet.com/~hkwomen/womenrpt9800.html
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Legislative Council
http://www.legco.gov.hk/english/index.htm
Ichannel.com
(Wen si-hu, 性別與創造-----女性主義美學及其他
(p.65 – 72). 〈Chinese〉)
http://iculture.ichannel.com.hk/
The Need for Objective and Subjective Indicators in Gender Statistics
http://www.eoc.org.hk/message/english/extram2e.html
Young
resource centre