While the proportion of women elected to district councils has almost tripled in the past two decades, the proportion appointed to councils by the government has inched up a mere 1 per cent in the same period.
According to a study by the Legislative Council Secretariat, the government appointed 21 women to district councils in 1985, 16 per cent of all appointed members on the councils. In 2007, it appointed 17 female members, who made up 17 per cent of all appointed members.
During the same 22-year period, the number of women elected to councils rose from 17 to 79. They accounted for 7 per cent of all elected members in 1985, the proportion growing to 20 per cent in 2007.
In total, there were 96 female members, appointed and elected, in 2007 - or 19 per cent of all members.
The government's appointment of women to non-official posts has also seen only a small improvement. From 2005 to 2008, the number of women appointed to non-official posts fell from 1,888 in 2005 to 1,484 in 2008. But during that period the total number of non-official posts fell from 7,761 to 5,370, so the proportion of women appointed has increased from 24 per cent to 28 per cent.
Women working for the government have had much better news. In 1985 there were no female officers at D6 or above on the government's directorate pay scale, which peaks at D8. In 2009, there were 22 women out of 61 officers at D6 or above.
At present there are four women at the top level of government (up from three in 2002): Civil Service Secretary Denise Yue Chung-yee, Development Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Transport and Housing Secretary Eva Cheng and Commerce and Economic Development Secretary Rita Lau Ng wai-lan.