Women, Work and Family: The Case of Hong Kong

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Women, Work and Family The Case of Hong Kong

• PresentationKyoto Forum
• December 9, 2006
• Dr. Odalia M. H. Wong
• Department of Sociology
• Hong Kong Baptist University

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Hong Kong Women and Education
The educational level of both men and women in
Hong Kong has improved a lot in the past two
decades as a result of the advancement of the
society and the introduction of the nine year
free compulsory education
In the 1960s, young girls in Hong Kong had
relatively limited opportunities compared to
young boys in receiving education beyond the
primary level
At that time, there was a tendency for many
parents to reserve their limited resources for
more and better education for their sons, a
practice reinforced by the general belief that
education was relatively unimportant for
daughters since they would eventually get married
and have husbands to support them
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Hong Kong Women and Education
A major barrier to education for young girls was
removed by the six-year compulsory education
scheme introduced in 1971, which was expanded to
the nine-year compulsory education scheme in 1978
Combined with a grant and loan scheme introduced
in 1969 to provide support for needy university
students, the free compulsory education policy
has had a positive effect on the enrolment of
male and female students from different social
classes
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Hong Kong Women and Education
Between 1986 and 2005, the proportion of Hong
Kong women aged 15 and over with a senior
secondary or above education increased from 36.4
to 56.1 (Hong Kong Census and Statistics, 2006)
It should be noted that the proportion of women
with a tertiary education (non-degree and degree)
increased from 8.0 to 20.4 between 1986 and 2005
As for Hong Kong men aged 15 and over, the
proportion with a tertiary education increased
from 10.3 in 1986 to 24.3 in 2005
Among those with a tertiary degree education, the
sex ratio has decreased from 2,204 (males per
1,000 females) to 1,127 (males per 1,000 females)
between 1986 and 2005
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Hong Kong Women and Education
Lets turn to the enrolment of the tertiary
degree programs funded by the University Grants
Committee a government body responsible for
funding and overseeing the programs offered by
the eight local tertiary institutions
Looking at the student enrolment in the
undergraduate degree programs, in 1986, 62.2 of
the students enrolled in these programs were men
and only 37.8 were women
However, in 2005, the figures for men and women
enrolled in the undergraduate degree programs are
46.6 and 53.4, respectively (Hong Kong Census
and Statistics, 2006)
In other words, there are presently more women
than men studying and eventually getting an
undergraduate degree
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Hong Kong Women and Education
For the taught postgraduate programs, in 1986,
62.9 of the students enrolled in these programs
were men and only 37.1 were women
However, in 2005, the figures for men and women
enrolled in the taught postgraduate programs are
44.4 and 55.6, respectively
As for the research postgraduate programs, in
1986, 80.0 of the students enrolled in these
post-graduate programs were men and only 20.0
were women
However, in 2005, the figures for men and women
enrolled in the research postgraduate programs
are 57.7 and 42.3, respectively (Hong Kong
Census and Statistics, 2006)
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HK Women and Labor Force Participation
Concurrent with the advances in education, Hong
Kong entered into a sustained period of rapid
economic growth which drew many women into formal
employment
The first impetus came in the early 1960s, when
the rapid growth of export-oriented light
manufacturing industries created a strong demand
for low-wage factory labor
It was during this time that women's labor force
participation increased most significantly,
rising from 36.8 percent in 1961 to a plateau
level of 49.5 percent in 1981 (Hong Kong Census
and Statistics, 1977 and 1987)
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HK Women and Labor Force Participation
The second impetus to job growth started in the
late 1970s with the opening up of the Chinese
economy, which created a vast economic hinterland
for Hong Kong that especially benefited the high
value added industries such as banking and
finance, as well as the professional sectors
During this second phase of Hong Kongs economic
transformation, the mix of employment for women
shifted towards managerial and professional
positions
The proportion of women taking up a
professional/technical or administrative/manageria
l position held steady at about seven to eight
percent between 1961 and 1976, then rose sharply
to 20 in 1991 (Wong, 1995)
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HK Women and Labor Force Participation
Notwithstanding, there has always been a gap
between men and women in terms of labor force
participation rates, but the gap is getting
smaller over the past two decades
In 1986, the overall (LFP) rates for men and
women were 80.5 and 48.9, respectively However,
in 2005, the overall rates for men and women were
71.1 and 51.8, respectively (Hong Kong Census
and Statistics, 2006)
The male-female gap decreased from a 32
percentage point difference in 1986 to a 19
percentage point difference in 2005
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HK Women and Labor Force Participation
What is more interesting is when we look at the
comparative labor force participation rates for
male and female by marital status
Among the ever married population aged 15 and
older, the labor force participation rate for men
dropped from 82.9 in 1986 to 73.0 in 2005 (Hong
Kong Census and Statistics, 2006) However, the
rate for women actually increased from 39.1 in
1986 to 44.9 in 2005
Among the never married population aged 15 and
older, the labor force participation rate for men
dropped from 76.9 in 1986 to 67.4 in 2005, and
the rate for women also dropped from 70.8 in
1986 to 68.4 in 2005
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HK Women and Labor Force Participation
Here we can see that the labor force
participation rate for never married women is
higher than the rate for ever married women
however, the opposite holds for men, that is, the
rate is higher among the ever married men
Also, while never married women engage in the
labor market to the same extent as never married
men, married women do not engage in the labor
market to the same extent as married men
In other words, most men continue to work after
marriage, but most women drop out of the labor
force after marriage
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HK Women and Labor Force Participation
When we look at the labor force participation
rates of women by age, we find an inverse
relationship between labor force participation
and age that is, the older the ages the lower
the LFP rates
For example, in 2005, the rates for all women
under 40 years old were all above 70 and the
highest rate (86.3) is for those in the 25-29
age group However, the LFP rate dropped down to
51 in the 50-54 age group and it was below 14
in the 60-64 age group.
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HK Women and Labor Force Participation
With the increase in womens educational
attainment, the chances of them getting into
occupations that require higher qualifications
and training seem to have improved over the years
Indeed, the number of women in managerial and
administrative, professional and associate
professional positions has double in size, from
204,400 to 422,300 between 1993 and 2005 (Hong
Kong Census and Statistics, 2006)
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HK Women and Labor Force Participation
In 1993, women represented 16 of all those in
managerial and administrative positions, 32.5 of
all those in professional positions, and 40.4 of
all those in associate professional positions
However, in 2005, women represented 26.8 of all
those in managerial and administrative positions,
33.8 of all those in professional positions, and
42.3 of all those in associate professional
positions (Hong Kong Census and Statistics, 2006)
The gap between men and women in managerial and
administrative positions has narrowed the most
the difference was 67 percentage points in 1993
and it was 46.4 percentage points in 2005
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HK Women and Marriage
To put things in perspective, one has to
understand that Hong Kong women have been
postponing marriage and childbearing in the past
twenty years
The median age at first marriage increased from
23.3 years old in 1986 to 28 years old in 2005
(Hong Kong Census and Statistics, 2006)
Meanwhile, the median age at first childbirth
increased from 25.1 years old to 29.1 years old
between 1986 and 2005
Of course, Hong Kong men have also been
postponing marriage, their median age at first
marriage increased from 27 years old in 1986 to
31.2 years old in 2005
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HK Women and Marriage
The postponement of marriage has been occurring
when women are receiving more education and
staying in school longer
The more education women have, the more
career-oriented they are. After all, the time
spent in obtaining a higher education is to
accumulate more human capital so as to put one in
a better position in the labor market
As women become more economically independent,
the choices available to them increase and they
may find early marriage less appealing
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HK Women and Marriage
In 2005, 92.9 and 66.5 of the women in the ages
20-24 and 25-29 were never married and women in
the 25-29 age group has the highest labor force
participation rate (86.3)
All these indicate that the younger generation of
Hong Kong women are taking advantage of the
employment opportunities available to them in the
labor market and they are actively participating
in the labor market while being never married
After all, for women, marriage, childbearing
and/or family responsibilities (e.g. taking care
of the elderly family member) may cause some of
them to quit working and return home Once a woman
has left the labor market for several years, the
chances of her getting back in or getting a job
with similar pay prior to her leaving the market
may be low
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Factors influencing womens labor force
participation
- human capital factors
- labor market factors
- family-related processes
- gender role ideology
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Family-related processes
Such as marriage, childbirth and childrearing
In most industrial societies, LFPRs for married
women lower than those for single women LFPRs
for married women with kids lower than those for
married women without kids
Comparative research in industrial societies has
found that factors that lessen womens
family-related roles are likely to have positive
outcomes for their labor force participation
Factors that reduce a wifes domestic work are
likely to have positive consequences on her labor
force participation and employment outcomes
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Gender role ideology
The more traditional a societys dominant gender
role ideology, the more likely it is that women
will retire from paid work upon marriage (Brinton
et al., 1995)
Studies in the UK and U.S. have found that when
couples have children, both husbands and wives
predominantly regard and treat childcare duties
as wives responsibility (Warde, 1993, Robinson,
1988 Sullivan, 2000)
Comparative research found that most policies
that lend support to womens family gender role,
particularly those in relation to childcare, have
positive effects on womens labor force
participation and other employment-related
outcomes
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Hong Kong studies
Ngo (1992), using individual level data of
married women in Hong Kong, contended that
womens choice of flexible work might explain
their disadvantaged position in the labor market
He argued that the reason for the womens
behavior is the force of patriarchal and
Confucian culture which compels women to trade
off good jobs for flexibility and time to take
care of their husbands and families
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Hong Kong studies
Regarding the career development of women in Hong
Kong, Ng and Chakrabarty (2005) pointed out that,
a ruthlessly competitive capitalistic economic
system, a fairly educated population and anti sex
discrimination laws seem to have contributed to
the development of womens careers
However, roles in the private (home) and public
(work) spheres are still gendered. Women,
regardless of their full-time employment in paid
work, are expected to take care of the household
At the organizational level, there are very few
workplaces in Hong Kong that practice women- and
family-friendly policies
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Hong Kong studies
In their study, Ng and Chakrabarty (2005) found
women managers to be more family-oriented and
less career-oriented than their husbands. Also,
these women held traditional values concerning
the roles and identities of a wife and husband
values such as men are the breadwinners and women
should respect and help their husbands career
pursuits
although both parents of dual-career couple
might be equally concerned about, and pay equal
attention to, their childrens welfare and
academic achievements, usually it is the career
husband, rather than the career wife, who has a
more legitimate and less guilt-ridden claim to
put career before family
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Hong Kong studies
It is argued that patriarchal familism is
enhanced by the current government view that
social policy should not undermine the
traditional responsibility of the family (Lee,
2002)
The family remains the principal institutions for
the care of the young, aged and infirm (Chow,
1993) Support and care are assumed to come from
family members or close relatives
As long as the family remains the primary caring
institution, patriarchal traditions and practices
are sustained, and womens role in reproduction
and care is reinforced (Lee, 2002)
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Hong Kong studies
Childcare in Hong Kong is largely a private
affair. Since men contribute little to
housework, women who return to the labor market
after childbirth either choose work that can
accommodate their domestic obligations, or
arrange for their children to be cared for by
their close kin or a live-in foreign domestic
worker (Chan, 2006)
Foreign domestic workers were first introduced to
Hong Kong in the early 1980s. In March 2001,
there were 222,000 foreign domestic workers in
Hong Kong. The systematic importation of foreign
domestic workers to Hong Kong has evolved over
the past 20 years into a policy that has
far-reaching effects on married womens
employment
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Hong Kong studies
For households where there may be a greater
financial need for mothers to be in paid work,
domestic workers have a greater function in
releasing these women into paid work (Chan,
2006)
In higher income families, domestic workers are
more likely to have symbolic functions for the
family as a whole as well as for the wives, and
also serve as an aid to social reproduction, by
releasing mothers from routine housework to
pursue family-oriented lifestyles by spending
their time and effort on the cultural capital
accumulation of their children, and possibly also
to spend time on activities which would
compensate her gender role
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Hong Kong studies
For women who have a family and a career, they
have to assume multiple roles wife, mother,
daughter/daughter-in-law, and employer/employee Th
ey have to constantly strike a balance between
the demands from family and career As a result,
role conflicts and role overloads are
inevitable Although employing a domestic worker
can help to release a career women from routine
housework, she is sill required and expected to
play the roles of wife and mother
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Hong Kong studies
Combining family and career is more difficult for
women than for men especially if patriarchal
familism is strong and deep-rooted Although the
set up of the Equal Opportunity Commission and
Womens Commission, as well as the passing of the
anti sex discrimination law and the anti family
discrimination law have made labor force
participation of women easier than before, they
have not been effective in changing the gender
role ideology or mens behavior in performing
household chores Consequently, women either have
to postpone marriage while developing their
career or downplay their own career development
while having a family
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Hong Kong studies
We have seen that as married women sought to
enter the labor force over the last 30 years, and
as more women pursue careers (instead of just
jobs), the question becomes one of whether the
household division of labor can adjust to
accommodate women combining family and career,
and this issue could have a profound impact on
marriage rates and fertility rates in the coming
years
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Hong Kong studies
Recent studies in the West show that women have
been making progress in breaking away from
housework, as the younger generation seems more
receptive of a more even distribution of
housework between working spouses (Ferree 1991
Coltrane 1996 Lindsey 1997 Deutsch 1999) These
same studies often show that, for women to
succeed in pursuing their career while raising a
family, they need supportive husbands who are
willing to make the necessary adjustments to that
end Overall, in the struggle to combine career
and family, it appears that we can probably
expect greater progress in the household than in
the workplace, where the demand for
specialization and unyielding commitment seems
hard to break, although this is a question that
requires more in-depth research (Wong, 2003)
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Career Services Programs offer by HKBU
At HKBU, the Placement Center under the Office of
Student Affairs is charged with the tasks of
assisting the students in choosing a career,
preparing for the job market and making them
aware of employment opportunities Career
counseling at HKBU treats male and female
students alike, specifically, they are welcome to
join any services and programs organized by the
center
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Individual Career Counseling and Group Career
Counseling
The Placement Center offers both individual and
group career counseling services to help students
to explore and increase their understanding of
their own personality, potentials, values and
career interests. The message to the students is
that in pursuing career interests that are right
for them, they have to know themselves,
understand their own potentials and values, and
overcome their barriers
33
Directed Career Search Program
The Directed Career Search Program offers a
series of training sessions in preparing HKBU
students for career searches. The objectives
include 1) equipping students with leadership,
communication and job-search skills so that they
will have confidence to compete with job
searchers 2) assisting students in setting up
career directions and walking towards their
career goals and 3) widening their knowledge of
culture and entrepreneurship in Asian counties
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Career Mentorship Program
The Career Mentorship Program invites prominent
or successful people in the business sectors to
be mentors of HKBU students. Through frequent
interactions with the mentors, HKBU students will
gain a better understanding of the background,
job nature, career development, struggles and
successes of their mentors. Mentors are both
role models and career counselors in helping the
students to explore and develop their career
interests
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Global Attachment (GAP) Program and Metropolitan
Attachment Program (MAP)
Both the Global Attachment (GAP) Program and
Metropolitan Attachment Program (MAP) enable HKBU
students to work and live in major cities around
the world for a period of time (one month to
three months) during the summer time. Both are
internship programs which try to enrich students
living and working experience in different
cultural environments. The Global Attachment
Program places heavy emphasis on team members
cooperation, communication and problem-solving
skills, so participants will live and work
together as a team. The Metropolitan Attachment
Program is an individual-based program
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Career Talks and Company Visits
Career talks hosted by guest speakers from a wide
variety of employment fields and government
departments are held periodically to provide
students with a wide range of information that
are useful and practical for them in making
career choices and preparing job applications.
In addition, company visits are arranged to
provide the students the opportunity to meet and
talk directly with the senior executives, as well
as to enhance their understanding of the
operations of different business
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Jobs Fair and Career Exhibition
These are held on campus to provide students with
a wide range of information on career choices and
the subculture and expectations of different
professions