A HONG KONG woman's place is still in the home, according to a new survey. Traditional Chinese values continue to hold sway in most households, the Equal Opportunities Commission study shows. Women are expected to do the lion's share of chores. Up to 68 per cent of respondents said wives were responsible for regular household tasks like shopping, cooking and cleaning. And up to 70.5 per cent said most child-related activities, including supervising homework, meeting teachers and choosing primary schools, fell to mothers. About 54 per cent said husbands were responsible for maintaining and repairing household appliances. And 40 per cent said husbands or fathers were the head of the household and usually controlled the family economy. But this could be about the change with the next generation. The study, based on interviews with 2,020 people, showed there was a strong sense of equality between male and female children. About 77 per cent disagreed that it was more important for boys to have a good education, and 91.2 agreed that girls should have the right to inherit property. Leung Lai-ching, chairman of Association for the Advancement of Feminism, said the results suggested that Hong Kong people still mirrored traditional stereotypes. 'There are things that we can do to change the situation. One of the most important is to encourage more wives to go out to work, so they could ask their husbands to take up more household tasks,' she said. The study also criticised the projection of common gender stereotypes in the media, with 43 per cent of respondents dissatisfied with the standard of reporting gender issues. Almost 73 per cent believed the press and television usually portrayed men as being the family breadwinner and 66 per cent of respondents wanted legislation to curb discrimination against women in the media.
