Men in Hong Kong: the weaker gender?

Hong Kong (CNS) -- Along with improvements in education and industrial reforms in recent years, men in Hong Kong are gradually losing their dominant social status and are now even calling for special protection, according to a survey conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) of Hong Kong invited the Gender Research Centre (GRC) of the CUHK to carry out the survey on the region's gender situation.

More local women are receiving higher education, and the gap in skills between genders is diminishing, said Associate Professor Au Wing-tung, leader of the survey team.

In terms of Hong Kong's four pillar industries, women dominate the tourism and retail fields, men lead in professional service sectors such as real estate, and the two genders are equal in finance and trade, said Alexa Chow, managing director of Centaline Human Resources Consultants Limited.

Government statistics vary slightly from Chow's analysis. Women still perform much better in retail, food and some other service fields, while men only maintain their advantage in transportation, construction and telecommunications. Almost 60 percent of employees in the insurance and financial sectors are female.

The EOC has proposed that the government should address the gender situation during policy-making by increasing social services especially for men, such as special clinics or care centers for abused men.

The motion to create a special leave for men to take care of their wives during maternity leave was raised by Assistant Professor Hung Suet-lin at the Department of Social Work of Hong Kong Baptist University. Dr. Hung insists that the sharing of family duties is a natural phenomenon as society evolves.