Unhelpful husbands a factor in female CEO shortage in Hong Kong

Few men in Asia are willing to be househusbands or take on more household chores, a cultural factor that contributes to the smaller number of female chief executives in Hong Kong than in Western countries, according to a recruitment expert.

Only 4 per cent of the chief executives of Hong Kong-listed companies are women, compared with 14 per cent in the United States, according to figures from the Women's Foundation quoted by Christine Greybe, president of DHR International, a US-based headhunting firm.

"In the US or other Western markets, there are some top female CEOs who have a househusband to take care of the household work to support their wives taking up the top jobs," she said. "In Asia, the culture and traditional thinking are different and there are few men willing to do so here."

Greybe said such thinking had led women in Asia to tend to take up more housework and child-care duties than their husbands and that had led to more women quitting their jobs after giving birth in order to focus on family.

Hong Kong law gives new mothers 10 weeks of maternity leave but makes no provision for leave for fathers with new babies. That also made it hard for husbands to lend support with the housework.

"The Hong Kong government should change the law to support fathers willing to take care of their newborns and to support their wives," Greybe said.

She said many companies were open minded about men and women competing for chief executive jobs but there were more male candidates with the capabilities and experience needed for such jobs. She blamed that on the unequal division of housework, which had led to fewer Asian women than men being able to climb up to the level of company vice-president - a stepping stone for chief executives.