Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam in ‘pro-child’ push for flexible employment for working mothers in public, private sectors

Chief executive says she has prioritised a ‘pro-child’ philosophy in social policy since she took the city’s top job in 2017

She says it is important to retain women in workforce while offering them better childcare support

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Women comprise 54.3 per cent of Hong Kong’s population. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Published: 11:44pm, 30 Oct 2021Updated: 12:52am, 31 Oct 2021

Hong Kong’s leader is expected to launch a campaign encouraging flexible employment for mothers in the public and private sectors, in a bid to retain such employees in the workforce.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor revealed the idea on Saturday when she spoke at a joint annual scientific meeting on challenges in child health in the post-pandemic era.

Lam said she had prioritised a “pro-child” philosophy in social policy since she took the city’s top job in 2017.

She listed eight measures the government had undertaken on this front, including the expansion of child services such as after-school care, to relieve the burden on working mothers.

Carrie Lam speaks at the opening ceremony of the joint annual scientific meeting. Photo: SCMP

With a female labour participation rate of about 50 per cent in Hong Kong, Lam said it was important to retain women in the workforce while offering them better childcare support.