Transcript Women`s Equal Opportunities – the Hong Kong Experience
Women’s Equal Opportunities – The Hong Kong Experience
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D r. York C HOW C h a i r p e r s o n E q u a l O p p o r t u n i t i e s C o m m i s s i o n H o n g K o n g 2 3 J u l y 2 0 1 3
Historical Review (I)
2 Before 1960s: women were mostly family carers. 1960s: Creation of a vast amount of blue-collar and white-collar job opportunities; Higher education level, simpler family structure, and better employment opportunities and economic prospects also encouraged more women to participate in economic activities.
1970s: The Government started to provide 6-year free basic education to local boys and girls in 1971 and the free education was extended to a period of 9 years in 1978.; In 1975, female civil servants began to enjoy equal pay as their male counterparts.
Historical Review (II)
3 1980s and 1990s: Legislation was passed for paid maternity leave; the enactment of the former Domestic Violence Ordinance; the passage of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance, which provided for separate taxation for married women; the right for female indigenous villagers to inherit land in the New Territories in the absence of a will; the enactment of the Sex Discrimination Ordinance and the establishment of the Equal Opportunities Commission .
Extension of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to Hong Kong.
21st Century: Since the 1980s, local women’s groups have been advocating the establishment of a central mechanism on women’s affairs.
The Government set up Women’s Commission on 15 January 2001.
Legal Protection against Sex Discrimination
4 The Basic Law The Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (FSDO)
Birth of the Sex Discrimination Ordinance
5 Sexual Discrimination Ordinance – a private initiative Ms Anna Wu, the then legislative councillor , introduced the Equal Opportunities Bill (EOB) in the form of a Private Member’s Bill in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 1994.
Outlawing discrimination on various grounds including sex, disability, family responsibility, sexuality, age, race, religious, etc. Under pressure, the Government agreed to introduce legislation against sex and disability discrimination (the Sex Discrimination Bill and Disability Discrimination Bill). The Sex Discrimination Ordinance was passed in 1995.
The Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO)
6 Outlaw discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status and pregnancy, and sexual harassment; Examples: Cannot dismiss or transfer a pregnant woman into a lower paying position; Unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a job applicant on the basis of sex unless if a person's sex is a genuine occupational qualification for the job.
Applies to both males and females; Code of Practice on employment under the SDO; Provides for the establishment of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).
Protection in Seven Fields under the SDO
7 Employment Activities of Government Education Protection in Seven Participation in clubs Eligibility to vote for and to be elected or appointed to advisory bodies Fields Provision of goods/ facilities / services Disposal or management of premises
Enquiries & Complaints related to Sex Discrimination
8 Sex Discrimination Ordinance Related Enquiries & Complaints No. of SDO related enquiries No. of SDO related complaints No. of pregnancy discrimination complaints No. of sexual harassment complaints
2010
822 303 150 83
2011
878 262 130 64
2012
1045 282 97 115
2013 (Jan-June)
604 110 43 43 An average of 87% of the complaints related to sex discrimination are made lodged by women for the past three and a half years.
An average of 94% of sexual harassment complaints are raised by women from January 2010 to June 2013.
Family Status Discrimination Ordinance
9 Passed in 1997. Unlawful for anyone or any organisation to discriminate against a person, male or female, on the basis of family status. Applies to the same seven areas as what the SDO covers .
Example: An employer CANNOT turn down an employee’s promotion or transfer him/her because of his/her family status, e.g. after knowing that the employee is the only carer of his/her young son at home .
The Equal Opportunities Commission
10 A statutory body established under the SDO on 20 May 1996.
Commenced operation on 20 September 1996.
Independent of the Government .
S63(7) of the SDO: the EOC “shall not be regarded as a servant, or agent of the Government” .
Accountable to the public .
Governed by a Board comprising of a full-time Chairperson and 16 members from different backgrounds .
Main Objectives of the EOC
11 To implement the SDO, the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (FSDO), and the Race Discrimination Ordinance.
To work towards the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, family status and race.
To eliminate sexual harassment, and harassment and vilification on the grounds of disability and race. To promote equality of opportunities between men and women, between persons with and without a disability and irrespective of family status and race.
What the EOC does (I)
12 Investigate complaints & encourage conciliation between parties in dispute • In 2011/2012, 16,800 enquiries answered and over 1,000 complaints handled; • 64% successful conciliation rate.
Provide legal assistance • About HK$2,800,000 was secured in compensation for complaints through conciliation & legal assistance in 2011/12 .
Promote anti discrimination and equal opportunity values and policies • More than 47,000 employers, employees and interested parties received our training in 2011/12; • More than HK$1,570,000 were granted to fund 63 community projects to promote equal opportunities in 2011/12.
What the EOC does (II)
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Public Education
• In 2011/12, 71,000 students watched our EO plays; • More than 4,500 university students used the online training module developed by the EOC since its launch in 2007.
Review legislation and provide guidelines
• Revised Code of Practice on Employment under the DDO in 2011/12; • Conducting a comprehensive review of the 4 discrimination ordinances.
Conduct researches
• In 2013, research reports released include the Sexual Harassment - Questionnaire Survey for Education Sectorthe, the Study on Students' Sexual Attitudes and Views on Sexual Harassment, the Equal Opportunities Awareness Survey 2012, etc.
What the EOC has done to achieve Women’s Equal Opportunities
14 Elimination of Discriminatory Advertisements; Remove the gender-based discriminatory elements in the Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System; Eliminate Gender Stereotyping in Textbooks; Cracking the Dress Code Combating Pregnancy Discrimination; and Eliminate Sexual Harassment.
Discriminatory Advertisements
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Unlawful
to publish discriminatory Advertisements under the discrimination ordinances in HK, including the SDO and the FSDO.
(i) Education and publicity:
The EOC regularly monitor recruitment advertisements and work closely with publishers, advertisers and employment agencies;
(ii) Legal proceedings
The EOC has power under the discrimination ordinances to bring legal proceedings against publishers and advertisers.
In the year 1997/98, the EOC has taken court action on 18 advertisements appearing in 5 newspapers and fines were imposed.
(iii) Significant drop in discriminatory advertisements:
December 1996 -- 37% advertisements in print media were discriminatory; March 1998 – Less than 1%.
Fostering Fairer Access to Education
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Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System
A System used by the Education Department to allocate places for Primary 6 students into Secondary Schools since 1978. Formal Investigation The EOC received complaints. Formal investigation by the EOC into SSPA System started in September; The SSPA System was discriminatory on the basis of sex in 3 areas: a.
b.
the scaling of internal assessment scores using separate gender curves; the banding of students by sex; and c.
the sex quotas for placement in co-educational secondary schools.
The SSPA system led to systematic scaling down of the best girls’ scores and scaling up the best boys’ scores which restricted girls’ access to the best schools.
The EOC recommended: the Government should develop an allocation system without any discriminatory elements to ensure that boys and girls are placed into secondary schools fairly.
Fostering Fairer Access to Education
17 Judicial Review of the SSPA System August 1999 – The EOC investigation report found that the SSPA system discriminatory; April 2000 – The Education Department (ED) said that there were good reasons to keep the SSPA System as it was; July 2000 – The EOC applied to the court for judicial review of the SSPA System; June 2001 -- The High Court ruled that all three gender-based mechanisms in the SSPA System challenged by the EOC are discriminatory and unlawful under the SDO; July 2001 – The ED introduced relief measures to place affected students; 2002 – The ED removed the 3 gender-based features of the SSPA System with effect from the 2002 allocation.
Gender Stereotyping in Textbooks
18 Content analysis on textbooks and teaching materials in respect of stereotyping was conducted in late 1999; Examined nearly 70,000 references to human characters and interviewed students, teachers and publishers; Analysis showed: Female characters occurred less often than male; Reinforced traditional family roles with the father working and contributing to society with achievers tending to be male, while mothers stayed at home; and There was only one mention of single parenthood.
The study also prepared a set of guidelines for the development of education materials;and Teacher and publishers agreed that guidelines would be a useful reference in avoiding stereotypes in educational materials.
Cracking the Dress Code
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2010
The EOC granted legal assistance to a complainant who alleged that she was discriminated against by the school on the ground of her sex by imposing on her a dress code under which all female teachers were required to wear a dress or a skirt to work, and eventually she was pressurized to resign; The case raises a question of sex discrimination in the field of employment; and After a writ was issued by the EOC, the school agreed to settle the matter giving an apology and monetary payment to the complainant. The school also undertook to review its dress code .
Eliminate Pregnancy Discrimination
1.
2.
20 Resignation under pressure is a dismissal: February 2001 – the Court ruled that the employer discriminated against the plaintiff because of her pregnancy, and that she was victimized after she had lodged a complaint with the EOC.
The ruling made it clear that a resignation under pressure would be treated as constructive dismissal.
Set precedent by awarding damages in a pregnancy discrimination case: May 2003 – The Court held that an elderly home unlawfully discriminated against a pregnant woman by refusing to employ her as a supervisor.
The Court awarded damages of 3 different components: Loss of income; Injury to feelings; and Punitive damages.
Eliminate Sexual Harassment
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Court case:
In 2010, an employer was held by the Court that it was vicariously liable for employee’s act of sexual harassment as it did not take reasonable practicable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Damages of HK$80,000 was awarded to the complainant.
Surveys in 2011 and 2013:
An EOC survey on the Students’ Sexual Attitudes and Views on Sexual Harassment found that 50% of the responded students experienced various forms of sexual harassment during the past one year.
An EOC questionnaire survey found that 47% of the 321 respondents said that their schools have not yet adopted any sexual harassment policy.
Seminars:
The EOC held 4 seminars in early July to promote the formulation of a comprehensive and effective sexual harassment policy in schools; more than 800 school principals, vice-principals and senior teachers attended.
Women in the Labour Force
22 Labour Force and Labour Force Participation Rates of Hong Kong (LFPRs) by Sex
Period
1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012
Male Number (’000) LFPR (%)
1 600.3
1 727.5
1 766.0
1 954.9
1 958.1
1 953.6
1 972.1
81.3
80.3
78.1
75.1
72.4
70.4
68.7
Source: Census and Statistics Department
Female Number (’000) LFPR (%)
897.8
1000.7
1026.3
1279.9
1514.5
1668.7
1813.1
47.5
48.7
46.3
47.9
51.9
53.1
53.6
Educational Attainment
23 Number of Female Students in University Grants Committee-Funded Programmes (Excluding Sub-degree programmes)
Sex 1986/87 1991/92 1996/97 2001/02 2006/07 2010/11
Female 6,660 15,833 28,939 32,612 32,917 35,516 (37.2%)
Source: Women’s Commission
(41.2%) (46.2%) (51.5%) (52.3%) (52.5%) Women’s Population in Hong Kong (Foreign Domestic Helper Excluded)
1996 2001 2006 2011
Population 3,067,000 3,209,600 3,362,900 3,480,700 Proportion 48.8% 49.5% 50.7% 51.3%
Source: Census and Statistics Department
Women Professionals
24 1. Certified Public Accountants Thousands (%)
Source: Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Women Professionals (II)
25 2. Solicitors Holding Practising Certificates Thousands (%)
Source: The Law Society of Hong Kong
Women Professionals (III)
26 3. Fully Qualified Engineers Thousands (%)
Source: The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers
Women in Poverty
27 Poverty Rate by Sex in Hong Kong (2001 – 2011)
Source: The Hong Kong Council of Social Service
Employment Earnings (2010)
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Educational Attainment
No schooling / Pre-primary Primary Lower secondary Upper secondary / Sixth-form Post-secondary: non-degree Post-secondary: degree Overall 5,500 6,000 6,800
Median (HK$)
Female Male 10,000 12,000 20,000 10,000
Source: Women’s Commission
7,500 9,000 9,500 11,500 14,000 28,000 12,000
Women on Board
Global Hong Kong
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Aggregate percentage of women on boards in 2011 10.5% 9.4%
China Japan South Korea India Taiwan Singapore UK USA Norway 8.5% 1.1% 1.9% 5.2% 5.8% 7.0% 10.7% 12.6% 36.3%
Source: GMI Rating’s 2012 Women on Boards Survey
Social and Political Participation
30 1.
Female Members in Legislature/Lower House of Parliament Legislative Council of Hong Kong (2012-2016) World Eastern Asia Western Europe
Proportion 16% 17% 14% 29%
Source: Legislative Council of Hong Kong and Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations
2. Female Directorate Officers in the Civil Service
Source: Census and Statistics Department
My Dream
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“
You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as One
”
～