Opinion | Hong Kong is much more diverse than all-male line-up at tourism campaign launch suggests

It is very unfortunate that one aspect of the launch of the “Hello Hong Kong” tourism campaign has caught considerable attention in the press and on social media, and has shed an unnecessarily negative light on Hong Kong.

The equivalent of a ribbon-cutting ceremony featured Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu alongside relevant government officials. Also on stage were the heads of key bodies associated with the tourism sector, including the Tourism Board, the Trade Development Council and the Airport Authority. In all likelihood, those on stage were simply asked to attend in their respective capacities as a show of support.

When viewed in isolation from the rest of the event, the segment understandably attracted negative comment because of its lack of diversity. This was not intentional and everyone on stage was simply supporting a new initiative to promote Hong Kong as a premier tourist destination, highlighting the vibrancy which Hong Kong has to offer.

The key criticisms relate to the insensitivity of the central image. Clearly the all-male line-up on stage was an insensitive, if unintentional, oversight, and it comes at a time when we still have much to learn about many facets of diversity and inclusion. But there is a genuine recognition of and respect for the value that these facets bring to a modern, progressive society.

According to government statistics, last year 38.8 per cent of our civil servants were women. This compares favourably with, for example, the G20 countries where research has found that on average one in three civil servants are women.