Advertisement

Marching towards equality at work

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0

More women are getting white-collar jobs and rising to senior levels, a trend that will have positive long-term consequences

The latest research has found that more women are participating in senior levels of commercial organisations in Hong Kong and the mainland than ever before.

And with women outnumbering men six to four in some schools in Hong Kong, one expert has predicted that there will be more women working in white-collar jobs than men in 20 years' time - with sweeping consequences for the workplace.

At present, however, many women who do make their way into senior management roles are being pigeonholed by men bosses, and some companies still refuse to hire women, they say.

The status of women in the workplace in Hong Kong has improved markedly in the 12 years since Hong Kong first put in place the Sex Discrimination Ordinance and, in some cases, has even overtaken some western economies.

A report recently released by business advisory company Grant Thornton found Asian companies to be world leaders in employing women at senior management level.

According to the report, 83 per cent of Hong Kong businesses and 91 per cent of mainland Chinese businesses employ women senior managers, as opposed to 69 per cent in the United States.

Advertisement