Opinion | As Hong Kong celebrates International Women’s Day, everyone can play a part in closing the gender gap

With employers still biased against mothers, one in seven women a victim of sexual violence and too many unrealistic gender stereotypes, Hong Kong needs to work towards becoming gender equal – an improvement for both men and women

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We each have the power and the agency to ensure progress is made in gender equality. Photo: Martin Chan

Published: 7:30am, 8 Mar 2020Updated: 4:20pm, 8 Mar 2020

Hong Kong is at a critical juncture. The double whammy of the months-long protests and the coronavirus outbreak has placed the city in a precarious position – politically, socially and economically. From each of these crises, we have seen a distinct gendered impact.

The leaderless protest movement has seen a shift from women being in more passive, support roles to stepping up onto the front lines. The coronavirus epidemic, which has forced school suspensions and closures of elderly day care centres, disproportionately affects women, who are often tasked with caring responsibilities.

For weeks, the Philippine travel ban stopped its citizens, many of whom were migrant workers, from flying back to Hong Kong, inflicting a toll on women and families in both economies.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is apt to consider how we examine and understand these changes in gender norms as a city. To do so, we have to take a step back. Here, at home and at work, women still encounter gender disparities, gender stereotypes and gender-based violence.

We need a holistic, comprehensive approach to address all of these intertwined problems. We cannot talk about equally sharing domestic responsibilities without addressing the social expectations, and workplace policies and culture, that affect this.

We cannot talk about increasing women in the boardroom or in management without addressing unconscious bias in the workplace.