EditorialSupporting women in research helps Hong Kong’s gender equality push

Gender equality has been advancing steadily in Hong Kong, including in the field of medical science. But progress has been uneven in a city where women can comprise half of all medical students at an institution, yet only one in three fellows and non-fellows do research. While that sex ratio among researchers largely reflects global disparity, it is encouraging to see timely intervention to bridge the gender gap.

Professor Siew Ng, an associate dean of CUHK’s medical school and Wise convenor, said women’s participation has often been held back by the “huge challenge” of balancing family and research life. Ng rightly identified Hong Kong’s strategic location, mature academic and research systems, supportive government and strong equality between the sexes as conditions that should draw talented women. Easing the career-family crunch could allow more of them to remain engaged in early-stage research.

Hong Kong’s broader ambitions to become a global biomedical hub also depend on such efforts to ensure obstacles do not remain for half the talent pool. The academy’s focus on mentorship, leadership training and family-friendly arrangements should be supported. The approach could also serve as a blueprint for other sectors and institutions hoping to retain their brightest minds and attract others from overseas. Conditions that have forced women to “choose” between family and research could be handled with the flexibility that is becoming a strategic necessity for a modern economy.

Dr Shannon Chan, an associate professor in surgery and a Wise ambassador, said going into research does not necessarily mean choosing a career over family. The mother of a three-month-old said her research work benefits tens of thousands around the world. The “joy and excitement” that such work brings is something others would be drawn to, she said, if the right conditions are put in place.