One in five pregnant women and new mothers experience workplace discrimination in Hong Kong
The situation is worst in the retail and hospitality industries, according to an Equal Opportunities Commission report.
One in five women have experienced workplace discrimination during pregnancy, maternity leave or in the first year after giving birth, an Equal Opportunities Commission report has found.
Ranging from impolite treatment to being refused sick leave for pre-natal check ups, getting laid off or being allocated more work, the situation is the worst for pregnant women in retail or the restaurant and hotel industries. Around 33 per cent of those in retail and 44 per cent in hotels and restaurants encountered discrimination during pregnancy, the research indicated.
“The situation is serious,” said the discrimination watchdog’s head of policy and research, Ferrick Chu Chung-man.
Taken from research where 1,500 women working in small and medium enterprises as well as more than 500 employers or managers were interviewed, the results correspond to the EOC’s complaint figures, he added.
Of the roughly 1,450 gender discrimination complaints received by the commission, more than 600 of them are related to pregnancy, and almost all of them are employment issues.
Chu attributed the problem to low awareness among both female employees and their employers.
“There needs to be more education on employees’ rights, as well employers on their obligations,” he added.