WOMEN are more likely to be fearful of Hong Kong's political future than men, according to a study by a lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
In research based on a telephone survey, Dr Karen Wilkins, of the Department of Journalism and Communication, found that 61 per cent of women were pessimistic about Hong Kong's transition to Chinese rule compared with 46 per cent of men, with the most marked difference being between men and women in their middle years.
She also found that women had more fears than men regardless of age and socio-economic background.
Dr Wilkins was studying the relationship between exposure to news media and political attitudes. ''But in the course of my research I discovered, to my surprise, the overwhelming strength of gender in predicting political attitudes.'' As a result of her findings, Dr Wilkins said it was important to recognise that women as a group may be particularly vulnerable to political change in Hong Kong.
''I imagined the wealthier and more educated would be more at risk and afraid. I also expected the younger rather than the older to be afraid as younger people tend to be more distrustful and rebellious. But I was not really expecting this sharp difference between genders,'' she said.
Dr Wilkins carried out more research into her findings by posing the question: how do women, as distinct from men, view their future in Hong Kong, and are these perceptions mediated by exposure to the news? She found that gender was by far the strongest predictor of fear of the future, ahead of socio-economic status, which also had a significant influence, and age.
