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Following is the question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, in the Legislative Council today (March 7):
Question:
Regarding the employment situation of women in Hong Kong and the assistance provided to them by the Government, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective current average monthly and hourly wages for male and female employees, the number of women who have not taken up employment due to childbirth or the need to take care of their children and the percentage of the female workforce that number equals to, the number of full-time or part-time female employees in managerial positions and its percentage in the total number of managerial employees, the trades and industries in which the jobs are mostly taken up by men, the number of female employees in such trades and industries and its percentage in the total number of employees therein;
(b) given that in its research report published last year, the Women and Work Commission in the United Kingdom ("UK") pointed out that helping women participate in the labour market could bring an additional 15 billion pounds to 23 billion pounds a year to the UK economy, and the report also pointed out that unequal treatment for men and women continued to exist at work and analysed the reasons behind that, whether the Government has conducted a similar research; if so, of the details and findings of the research (including the economic benefits for Hong Kong of helping women participate in the labour market); if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) given that in response to the above research report, the UK Government has implemented a number of measures, such as providing women with job sharing information through on-line registers, recruiting women for managerial positions through mentoring schemes, offering female apprenticeship schemes in engineering and construction industries, establishing a fund to help employers recruit consultants to create more senior part-time posts for women, as well as allocating funds to train women for jobs traditionally undertaken by men, whether the Government will follow the UK's example by launching similar measures to encourage women who are willing to take up employment after childbirth to return to the labour market, taking the lead in recruiting women for managerial positions and creating more part-time senior posts for women, as well as encouraging and assisting women to join those trades and industries which are currently dominated by men (for example, by requesting the Vocational Training Council or the Employees Retraining Board to organise apprenticeship programmes or retraining courses tailor-made for women in these sectors and trades); if it will, of the details of the relevant measures?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) According to the results of the General Household Survey (GHS) conducted by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), statistics on median monthly employment earnings of employees (excluding foreign domestic helpers), female employees in managerial positions and participation of female employees in various industries are shown in Annexes 1, 2 and 3.
The GHS could not provide statistical information on the average hourly wages of male and female employees. With respect to females not joining the labour market due to childbirth or the need to take care of children, please refer to part (b) of this reply.
(b) An enquiry on the desire of economically inactive persons for taking up jobs if being offered suitable employment was conducted via the GHS by C&SD in Q4 2004. The purpose was to collect information on persons aged 15 and over who were economically inactive (Referred to persons who have not had a job and have not been at work during the 7 days before enumeration, excluding persons who have been on leave/holiday during the 7-day period and persons who are unemployed. Persons such as home-makers, and retired persons are thus included.) at the time of enumeration but were willing to take up jobs if being offered suitable employment. Information on their past working experience and their expectations in respect of the desired job was collected so as to assess the likelihood of their entering/re-entering the labour force as a source of the potential labour supply, even though they were economically inactive at the time of enumeration for one reason or another. Detailed survey findings were published in the "Special Topics Report No. 41".
In Q4 2004, some 214,900 persons aged 15 and over were economically inactive at the time of enumeration but were willing to take up jobs if being offered suitable employment. They represented around 10% of the total economically inactive population aged 15 and over. Of those 214,900 economically inactive persons, three-quarters (or 161,400 persons) were females. The most commonly cited reason for these 160,000 females being economically inactive was "took care of housework/took care of children, elderly, disabled or sick members at home" (cited by 68%). This was followed by "wanted to take rest/no motive to work/no financial need" (8.7%) and "retirement/old age" (8.1%). Although these 160,000 females had work desire, they were willing to take up work only if certain conditions were fulfilled. The three main considerations of these 160,000 females in taking up jobs were, in descending order of popularity, "flexible/convenient working hours" (cited by 41%), "high/reasonable salary" (20%) and "work place near home" (14%).
In respect of the economic benefits brought by assisting women in joining the labour market, the Government has always been aware of the general rise in education level of women as a result of social progress and increasing equality between the sexes. The role played by women in the labour market has also become increasingly important. Despite the lack of detailed assessment of such relevant economic benefits, figures do clearly show that the contribution of women to the local labour market has been on the increase. Among the female labour force (excluding foreign domestic helpers) in Q4 2006, 21.9% of women were degree-holders (19.6% for males), markedly up from that of 11.2% ten years ago (12.4% for males), and also exceeding the corresponding proportion of male labour. Coupled with sustained economic growth and the increase in employment opportunities, the labour force participation rate of women has increased notably from 45% to 49.7%, and the proportion of women in the total labour force has also risen from 36.6% to 42.3%. In terms of occupation categories, the proportion of female employed persons engaged as managers and administrators has also significantly increased from 19.5% to 31%.
Since Hong Kong is facing the challenge of an ageing population, with more women entering the labour market, the pressure on local human resources caused by the ageing population in future can be partly alleviated. In the long run, this is also conducive to sustaining Hong Kongˇ¦s growth impetus and reinforcing the overall economic benefits.
(c) The Social Welfare Department (SWD) provides, through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), a wide range of childcare services and Occasional Child Care Service, as well as Extended Hours Service, to needy families with children under the age of six. To provide more flexible day child-care services to needy families, SWD is now actively considering extending the day foster care service, launching the day small group home service and subsidising Mutual Help Child Care Centre services in 2007-08. Separately, NGOs also operate half-day supportive After School Care Programme for children aged six to 12, whose parents are unable to provide care for them after school as a result of work or other reasons. Families in financial difficulties and with social needs, such as dual working families, may apply for fee waiving from the Government. These services will help women re-enter the labour market after childbirth.
As an equal opportunities employer, the Government is committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination in employment, including discrimination in terms of sex, marital status, pregnancy and family status. As regards the employment of women to take up supervisory positions in the Government, promotion is the usual means for filling vacancies in higher ranks i.e. by selecting officers in the same grade on the criteria of character, ability, experience and any qualifications prescribed for the higher rank. Female officers now constitute around 30% of the directorate in the civil service.
Besides, the Labour Department (LD) has been promoting "employee-oriented" good people management practices among employers. Apart from discharging their duties at work, employees, regardless of gender or post, have to perform various family roles and responsibilities. As such, LD actively encourages employers to care for the family needs of their employees through frank and direct communication, thereby devising and implementing suitable family-friendly employment practices that can help employees balance their work commitment and family responsibilities.
The LD is also committed to helping job-seekers, including women seeking to take up employment after giving births, find suitable jobs. Through a network of 12 Job Centres, LD provides a comprehensive range of employment assistance and counselling services for job-seekers. Job-seekers, including women who need to take care of their families, may also make use of the Interactive Employment Service (iES) website to register for employment services and browse up-to-date information on employment and vacancies. Job referrals can also be secured through the Telephone Employment Service hotline.
The Government has been actively promoting the concept of lifelong learning in the community and has launched a wide range of education and training schemes or programmes aiming at enhancing the employability and competitiveness of the local workforce. Female applicants may enroll in the various programmes provided by the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and the Employees Retraining Board which offer equal access and opportunities. As a matter of fact, some courses offered by the above-mentioned training institutions are relatively better received by female learners (e.g. courses in child education and community services, design, hospitality and tourism, domestic helping services and healthcare massage). Female learners may also apply for the Apprenticeship Scheme run by VTC (among which the Jewellery and Printing trades are more popular among female learners). As regards some of the courses which are traditionally better received by male learners (e.g. courses in security and property management as well as mechanical, manufacturing and industrial engineering), there is a trend of increase in the percentage of female learners.
Ends/Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:57
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