An equal opportunities watchdog has complained not enough women are on advisory and statutory bodies after figures showed less than a quarter of members are female. The Equal Opportunities Commission said not only were most bodies male-dominated but in several instances there was no female representation. There are 4,718 men sitting on more than 400 statutory and advisory bodies, compared with 1,146 women. The situation has not improved since March 1999, when Frontier legislator Emily Lau Wai-hing raised questions about gender ratios. Then, out of a total of 4,842 members, 3,893 were men and 949 were women. Those bodies with no women include the boards and committees of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (17 men); the Review Body on Bid Challenges (12); and Planning Vision and Strategy (six). There are no women-only boards or decision-making committees. The new Women's Commission has four men out of 18 non-government members, while the Midwives' Council has four men on the 18-strong body. The commission's director on gender issues, Priscilla Ching Chung, questioned whether women's viewpoints were being neglected. 'When an issue is being discussed, will its impact on men and women be considered if there are no women on policy committees or if only one to two are represented?' she asked. Women's Commission member Maurice Lee Wai-man said Hong Kong lagged behind in appointing women compared to many countries, including the male-dominated society of Japan. The Association for the Advancement of Feminism accused the Government of failing to include women when it formulated some policies. Association vice-chairwoman for external affairs Kendy Yim Kit-sum said: 'Although gender doesn't necessarily make a difference in every issue, it is healthy to hear views from both sexes.' But the chairman of the Outstanding Young Persons' Association Award, Samuel Yung Wing-ki, said: 'I don't think it's an issue of equality. Some women may rather be spending time with their families. The Government is having enough of a hard time tracking down people with the necessary academic qualifications and work experience to sit on committees. 'And actually, I'm not aware of any of our women awardees who doesn't hold a seat on a government body.' The Home Affairs Bureau said gender was not a factor in appointing members. According to the latest census, 989 government officials of directorate grade are men and 280 are women. Men hold 50 of the 60 seats in the Legislative Council.