Opinion | The road out of poverty and to gender equality in Hong Kong starts at school
- Hong Kong should increase its spending, and use the money to fund unique education programmes for girls, with the goal of keeping them healthy and increasing their autonomy
Hong Kong is a society full of contradictions, and children’s access to education is one of them.
Secondary school enrolments rose from 89.3 per cent in 2012 to 92.9 per cent in 2017, ahead of the East Asia and Pacific average of 79.5 per cent. But that still means 24,008 children who should be in secondary school are not.
At the same time, 92.8 per cent of girls of school age are in secondary education in Hong Kong, lower than the 93.1 per cent for boys. Despite reaching gender parity, the Hong Kong government does not give literacy data for its elderly and adult population, alongside their gender breakdown. These missing statistics would likely show a stark difference between men and women.
This has implications for poverty in Hong Kong. There is a large gap between low-income Hong Kong men and women. According to the 2017 census, there were 80,800 men who earned less than HK$6,000 (US$765) per month (HK$4,000 is the official poverty line), but 451,700 women. Fighting poverty in this city must address the variables that disproportionately affect women and girls.
There are three fronts: political, legal, and public. Hong Kong’s female politicians can provide better role models for young girls, advocate for female causes and transform the ability of women to enter politics by running for public office. Legco is currently made up of 15.7 per cent women – far from gender equity.
Legal issues include changes to the 1995 Sex Discrimination Ordinance proposed last year, which should make the white-collar workplace more welcoming to women.
