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Following is the transcript of the speech (English only) by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan at the Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award Presentation Ceremony today (Tuesday):

Ms Wong, Award Recipients, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting me to officiate at the Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award Presentation Ceremony.

George Bernard Shaw, the English playwright, once said in his drama that 'home was the girl's prison and the woman's workhouse'. Contemptuous as it may appear nowadays, this remark was a true reflection of the common prejudice at the time. In Shaw's days, a woman's home was almost her entire world. She was not expected to pursue an active career, nor was she seen as a major player in the society to which she belonged. She could not expect much in terms of education, employment opportunity, civil and political rights, to name but a few things that today we take for granted.

Whether he might have liked it or not, it is clear that we have, in recent decades, tremendously widened the definition of 'home' in Shaw's dictionary. A woman today may take the helm of both the conference room and the dining room. She shops in the global commercial market as well as in the supermarket. She looks after her children's headache as well as those of her business partners and customers. She lends her hands to the underprivileged in the community, while taking care of - and to a certain extent managing - her husband.

If there is anything in common of the roles she plays in these very different areas, it is that she attends to them all as if they were her home - with the same commitment, responsibility, perseverance, courage, energy, tenderness and care. I believe this is not only the secret to success, but also a key to ensuring enjoyment and satisfaction in what one does.

The 'feminine chit-chat' among women leaders about their children and families is often looked at with narrowed eyes. To me this is not at all surprising. It simply exemplifies the multi-facet role played by women in family, on the job, and within the society at large. It demonstrates the challenge in balancing the many different, and sometimes conflicting, commitments in life. This is a challenge facing all, but perhaps particularly tough to women.

Women have made considerable gains over the past generation because of the Government's efforts to provide equal opportunities for education, because of our sustained economic growth which has allowed more women into the work force and also because the attitude of women themselves has changed. Education in its broadest sense has helped to correct bias based on gender stereotypes. It has also helped improve the self image of women and made them realize that by coming together and acting collectively, they can help remove injustice and sexual discrimination.

The award winners whom we are honouring tonight demonstrate that women in the professions and in business can and do make a difference. You have achieved prominence in your careers not through luck or favouritism but through sheer hard work, ability, ingenuity, and perseverance. I offer my warmest congratulations. You are excellent role-models for other women aspiring to excel in their chosen fields.

I would like to conclude with the observation that even today, women still seem to stand out as successful women rather than simply as successful persons. One never hears it commented with any surprise that men have achieved success. What for men is taken for granted is still relatively exceptional for women. One reason is that women are still mostly in a minority at the top of their chosen career. The fact is, of course, it takes time for equal opportunity employment policies to work through the system to produce equal representation at the top of a particular profession.

So, I invite you all both men and women to join hands in a common enterprise to remove all forms of discrimination based on a person's gender. We will know we have succeeded when every woman can exercise her full citizen's rights, when to be a successful woman in business is not something that is exceptional but is every bit as natural and commonplace as being a successful man.

Photo: The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, addressed the Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award Presentation Ceremony. Picture shows Mrs Chan delivering a speech at the ceremony.

End/Tuesday, December 14, 1999

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