Obstacles in career path of hong kong women managers Essay Example

for 17% of all managers in Hong Kong.

Table 1 shows that the proportion of female managers in Hong Kong went up considerably from 4% to 25.7% between the years 1994 and 2002. Though this development is encouraging, men continue to hold most senior positions across all industries, resulting in a disproportionate allocation of managerial and top-level roles for women.

Back in 2001, a discrepancy was noticed within the manufacturing sector regarding the ratio of female workers (38.2%) versus those holding leadership or higher-level positions (19.0%). This suggests that women are not being favored for administrative or managerial roles in this particular industry.

Table 2 shows that the Community, Social and Personal Services (CSPS) sector has a higher proportion of female employees at 63.9%. However, in management and administration roles, women only make up 43.9%, suggesting that CSPS values female managers more than manufacturing does. Although women are well-represented in CSPS, their percentage is still below half.

In Hong Kong, the government made nine years of education mandatory for both boys and girls in 1978, which resulted in women achieving higher education levels, thereby contributing to their professional growth. Mak & Chung (1997) noted that students are legally required to attend school until the age of 15. Additionally, a grant and loan program introduced in 1969 was combined with the compulsory nine years of education.

The grant and loan program aimed to support financially disadvantaged students who could not afford their educational expenses, as well as enforce compulsory education for nine years. This initiative resulted in a significant increase in enrollment numbers across various social backgrounds, including both genders (Mak, 1992). Although government-funded tertiary institutions in Hong Kong saw

more female students than male students (Hong Kong Government, 2003b: 38), some women still faced difficulties finding employment opportunities even after obtaining higher education qualifications. Despite the fact that the labor force participation rate for women rose from 48.9% in 1986 to 52%, it was not universally applicable (Hong Kong Government, 2003b: 38).

According to Hong Kong Government's report in 2003b:52, the female labor force participation rate in Hong Kong was reported as 0% in 1991 but increased to 50.6% by 2002, while the male rate went up from 69.6% to 72.5%. These statistics suggest that education and marriage may have contributed to restricting women's engagement in the workforce.

In 2003, the Hong Kong Government reported that both unmarried men and women had a labor force participation rate of 68%. This trend also applied to those who have never been married. However, once individuals were married, the rate decreased significantly with only 45% of women participating in the labor force compared to 74.8% of men.