TRADITIONAL Chinese thinking which puts the father at the head of the household and sees the mother as caring for the family and household chores, may have been modified by Hong Kong's modernisation, but this is not being matched by behaviour.
The transition to a modern industrial society, the exodus of women into the workforce and the rise of the nuclear family had all affected thinking, said Sandra K.M. Tsang, a lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong, in her review of the role of fathers in the territory.
''There has been a gradual shift in attitudes towards a more egalitarian division in family responsibilities,'' Ms Tsang told the International Conference on Family and Community Care last week.
But, she added, studies had shown that most household chores were undertaken by women regardless of whether they worked. Fathers' increased participation in the family was confined to such areas as the recreational activities of their children.
Such conservative gender roles were confirmed in another paper presented to the conference. Most Hong Kong husbands and many wives still believe that it is the man's role to concentrate on his work while women should look after home affairs, according to research by Dr Toni Mehrain, a sociology research associate at the University of Hong Kong.
She found in a survey of 568 respondents that nearly 60 per cent of fathers and 46 per cent of mothers believed that fathers were the head of the household and should take the major family decisions.