The following is issued on behalf of the Women’s Commission:

     The Women's Commission (WoC) welcomes the initiatives on promoting women's development in "The Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address" delivered by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (September 17).

     The Chief Executive announced in the Policy Address that the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) will increase the annual funding of the Women Empowerment Fund from $20 million to $30 million to further promote women's development. Moreover, the HYAB will also host the second Family and Women Development Summit Hong Kong (Summit) next year to explore measures with stakeholders of various sectors for continuously promoting women and family development in Hong Kong.

     It is also mentioned in "The Chief Executive's 2025 Policy Address Supplement" that the HYAB will continue to put forward women-related initiatives, including continuing to implement the She Inspires Mentorship Programme and increase the quota for its second cohort by 50 per cent to 120; keeping the one-stop family and women information portal under review and enriching its content; and continuing to implement the Maintenance Mediation Pilot Scheme under the Community Care Fund.

     The Chairman of the WoC, Dr Eliza Chan, said, "I am delighted to learn that the Chief Executive set out specific initiatives in the Policy Address to promote women's development, including significantly increasing the funding for the Women Empowerment Fund to support women's groups and non-government organisations in launching more projects that promote women's development. The inaugural Summit received active participation from all sectors of society, and the WoC will actively support the HYAB in hosting the second Summit next year. We also welcome the Government's increase in the quota for the She Inspires Mentorship Programme to cultivate more future female leaders in Hong Kong. The WoC will continue to work hand in hand with the Government, women's groups, and all sectors of society to jointly promote a new chapter in women's development."

     The WoC was established in 2001 and is committed to enable women in Hong Kong to fully realise their due status, rights and opportunities in all aspects of life. It adopts a three-pronged strategy, namely the provision of an enabling environment, empowerment of women through capacity building and public education to promote the well-being and interests of women.

Ends/Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Issued at HKT 18:32

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