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Following is a question by Dr Hon Helena Wong Pik-wan and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, in the Legislative Council today (June 19):
Question:
In June 2010, the Government raised the target for the proportion of women in the number of government-appointed non-official members (proportion of female members) in advisory and statutory bodies (ASBs) from 25 per cent to 30 per cent, and that proportion rose to about 33 per cent on the whole in 2012. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers and proportions of female members in ASBs in the past three years (set out one by one in a table);
(b) of the number of those ASBs with the proportion of female members currently below 30 per cent, and the percentage of such number in the total number of ASBs, and whether there were any male members of such ASBs whose terms of office had expired in the past three years; if so, whether the Government had taken such opportunities to increase the proportion of female members; if not, of the reasons for that;
(c) whether the authorities have taken measures to ensure that the proportion of female members in each ASB will not be lower than 30 per cent; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(d) given that the Home Affairs Bureau has indicated that it encourages women to provide their curricula vitae (CVs) for inclusion in the Central Personality Index (CPI), of the number of women whose CVs have been included in CPI so far; whether the Government has taken further measures to facilitate the inclusion of more women's CVs in CPI; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(e) whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of its efforts in promoting women's participation in ASBs since raising the target of the proportion of female members in June 2010; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; given that the proportion of female members in 2012 had already reached 33 per cent, whether the Government will consider further raising the target of such proportion, so as to better ensure that the viewpoints and concerns of both genders will be fully represented when the Government is making policy decisions?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question of Dr Hon Helena Wong Pik-wan is as follows:
(a) The women's participation rates in government advisory and statutory bodies (ASBs) with persons appointed by the Government as non-official members in the past three years are set out at Annex.
(b) As at December 31, 2012, there were 410 ASBs with Government-appointed non-official members. Of these, 142 (or about 35 per cent) have recorded women's participation rates of less than 30 per cent. Most of these ASBs have male members whose terms of office expired in the past three years. Appointing authorities have tried to increase the women's participation rates of these bodies as far as practicable. However, there are different reasons for not reaching the 30 per cent gender benchmark. For example, the majority of practitioners in the respective sectors or professions are male.
(c) We have issued guidelines to bureaux and departments, reminding the appointing authorities of the importance of the 30 per cent gender benchmark target. We have also requested them to draw the attention of all relevant organisations which are involved in candidate nominations to the Government's efforts in enhancing women's participation in ASBs.
(d) As at December 31, 2012, about 8 100 curricula vitae in the Central Personality Index were provided by female members of the public, representing an increase of about 6.6 per cent as compared with the figure as at December 31, 2011. Bureaux and departments are continually reminded to promote women's participation in ASBs by taking proactive measures to reach out, identify and cultivate women who are willing and able to contribute to the work of ASBs.
(e) The Government has raised the gender benchmark target from 25 per cent to 30 per cent with effect from June 2010. Since then, the overall women's participation rate has been increasing. We will constantly monitor the progress and encourage the further participation of women in ASBs, with a view to ensuring that the views of both genders are adequately considered.
Ends/Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Issued at HKT 13:06
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