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Following is the speech (English only) delivered by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, at the Summit on Asia's Most Powerful Women in Business today (October 13):

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I see a few in the audience today!

I am delighted to be here with you today and to be involved in an event which puts women where I think they rightly belong. It was an invitation I simply couldn't resist, particularly when Andrew Butcher said in his letter to me that and I quote, "this exciting conference will be an eye-opening feature on the female powerhouses across a wide variety of industries and their impact on business in the new millennium". He also made an oblique reference to an age where a "CEO needs to be a risk-taker who thinks off the diagonal". Now that proposition I find extremely interesting!

I'm sure it is coincidental, but today's summit also happens to coincide with the birthday of one of the leading political figures of recent times - that is Margaret Thatcher. So, I thought it would be rather appropriate to begin with a quote attributed to 'Maggie' back in 1983 and she said: "I'm extraordinarily patient provided I get my own way in the end"! There are some who may think that that line is also synonymous with the "iron butterfly" sobriquet that I was somehow labelled with recently. So how often does it come down to a question of stereotypes and perceptions? And this reminds me of that lovely story of two small children playing together in England during the 1980s when Mrs Thatcher was in full flow. The little girl said to the little boy, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And the little boy puffed out his chest and said "prime minister", to which the little girl replied "but you can't do that - it's a woman's job".

Whilst the theme and title of this summit are certainly timely, it could be argued that Asia presents something of a paradox. On the one hand, Asia has been a pace-setter in putting women in powerful positions. You only have to cast your mind back a few years to the period when influential women such as Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, and Sirimavo Bandaranaike were leading their respective countries. Unfortunately, on the other hand, this situation would probably be more difficult to achieve in some other countries.

Today, only one of those countries has a woman head of state, but others are making their mark in the business boardrooms which are beginning to take on a different shape. No longer are women finding it so difficult to achieve the same status as their male counterparts. And you need look no further than the impressive list of people who are taking part in the various panel discussions today to know that women are increasingly taking on powerful jobs in business.

But, as you know it hasn't always been that way. We have had a difficult climb up the ladder. Affirmative action, the establishment of special pressure groups and, as a last resort, adopting some pretty extraordinary tactics at the height of the feminist movement, have all been deployed to get us to where we are today. Perhaps I could use my own situation as a case in point. Although I hasten to add I didn't have to take to the streets or burn the bra for that matter! While I may not be in business, I think it could be said that the business of government is just as demanding - perhaps even more so. And just to show you that we mean business, we're in the process of dispensing with that old "iron rice bowl" image which the private sector has decried over many years.

When I first joined the civil service as a fresh-faced university graduate nearly 40 years ago, we women should have had that extra little bit of job security. You have to remember that back then, and even as late as the 1970s, women were still being paid less than men for doing exactly the same job. In my own case, when I received my first salary back in 1962, I was getting only 75 per cent of a man's pay.

When I married, which was the year after I joined the Hong Kong Government, I had to retire and reapply to be employed on temporary month-to-month terms. It was not until 1975 that women enjoyed parity of pay with men; and it took a further seven years before we were entitled to the same fringe benefits as our male counterparts in the civil service. Maybe I should have joined the private sector after all. But in those days there weren't too many women in business either.

But, thank God times have changed. Today all jobs in the civil service are open to both sexes. We do not specify gender preference in our advertisements for civil service vacancies. Women now make up 33 per cent of all public officials and female colleagues are taking up "traditional men's jobs". So, being a fire officer or a helicopter pilot are no longer the preserve of the male recruits, and women are not exempted from the rigorous training regime of their male counterparts in the disciplined services. And we are slowly pegging back the once male dominated positions at the directorate level. Female civil servants now make up 22 per cent of the directorate, and although this figure is still low, it is some 70 per cent higher than it was in the early 90s.

And from a ratio of one female to three male Administrative Officers over a decade ago, the ratio is now 54 to 46, but still in favour of the males. But, I'm delighted to see that the number of women joining the Hong Kong Administrative Officer grade in recent years has been consistently higher than that of men.

As I mentioned earlier, this situation is not confined just to the civil service. Women are achieving prominence in business, in public affairs, in community service and, of course, in politics. So, how have we arrived at this welcome situation? Several factors are involved, but perhaps the single most important one is the opening up of educational opportunities for all. In our case, a significant milestone was the introduction in 1978 of nine years of basic free education for all girls and boys up to the age of 15. In those earlier times, and well before the 1970s, it was virtually a tradition that many large families of limited means tended to emphasise education for the boys. A girl's place was around the home. But the 1978 initiative, coupled with a generous grant and loan scheme for university students, helped to ensure that girls were not deprived of an education because of financial constraints. And so they were able to compete on an equal footing for places in tertiary education. The results are there for all to see. Last year, there were more young women graduates of University Grants Committee-funded 'undergraduate' programmes at our tertiary institutions. And in some very competitive subjects, such as business and law, the percentage of female students was almost double that of the males.

Another important factor in enhancing the status of women in Hong Kong has been the sustained economic growth over the decades up until the end of 1997. This allowed more women to be absorbed into all sectors of the workforce. And our free market, competitive environment encouraged a high degree of mobility which benefited men and women alike. But it must be said that the Asian financial crisis and our subsequent recession in 1998 threw things out of kilter. And it is only in the past few months that we have started to see the situation improving with the unemployment rate edging down to more manageable levels. Of course, these have been trying times, but they have affected everyone, and not just the women in our workforce.

I think that the attitude of women themselves has also played a role in stimulating a change in perspectives. In its broadest sense, education has helped to correct a bias based on gender stereotypes. It has also helped improve the self-image of women and made them realise that by coming together and acting collectively, they can help remove injustice and sexual discrimination. That's how we achieved equal pay and conditions in the civil service in the 1970s and 1980s.

Some may say that the Hong Kong Government has been slow to react to outside pressures for change on gender issues. Although we have been taking positive action, I concede that much still remains to be done. The Sex Discrimination Ordinance was enacted in 1995 and a year later the Equal Opportunities Commission was established. Legislation covering such issues as disability discrimination and family status discrimination now come under the Commission's umbrella. And anyone doubting the commitment of the Equal Opportunities Commission in looking after people's rights needs look no further than a court decision last week, which ruled against the government in an anti-discrimination case supported by the Commission.

The Commission, of course, is a body designed to keep a watching brief on the rights of all individuals. And to ensure that we continue to do the best for the women of Hong Kong, we are establishing a Women's Commission whose work will have far-reaching implications on our society. Not only will it improve women's well-being, through public dialogue and debate 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.

I think that life is all about choices - choices freely made and not forced upon one by society's norms and prejudices. More and more women can now make these free choices although in some countries, the struggle for equality of the sexes remains an uphill battle. Looking round, you are all leaders in your own chosen field. I wonder how would you describe your leadership style? Is there one style for men and another style for women? I know from my own experience that you have to carve out for yourself a leadership style that you are ultimately comfortable with. And even then, you have to vary it depending on the situation. And I'm sure that there is more than one leadership style that can work. Some are more comfortable with the traditional, hierarchical, top down what I would describe as "command and control" approach. Others prefer a more participatory style, involving a sharing of ideas, of knowledge and vision, both top down and bottom up. In this process, you encourage everyone in the organization to be a part of the mission to be accomplished. And I very much prefer the latter style of management, although I hasten to add that in certain situations, for example, in a crisis, there may well be little alternative but to take charge of the situation - that is, the "command and control" approach. Perhaps because of the different roles we women take on - as wife, mother, carer, career woman, etc. I think that qualities of empathy, intuition, and sensitivity seem to come somewhat more naturally to women. I am personally convinced that these are qualities that we should all treasure because ultimately they help us become more effective leaders.

I believe that the 21st Century will bring even more opportunities and choices and with them even greater confidence for women. The Internet will change our lives in ways that we cannot even begin to imagine. Home used to be described somewhat contemptuously by the English playwright, George Bernard Shaw, as "the girl's prison and the woman's workhouse". But in this new millennium, I think "home" has taken on a whole new meaning 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.

Let me conclude with these words of the 19th Century French author George Sand - And she said "Try to keep your soul young and quivering right up to old age and to imagine right up to the brink of death that life is only beginning. I think that this is the only way to keep adding to one's talent and one's inner happiness."

Thank you very much.

End/Friday, October 13, 2000

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