Hong Kong is one of the leading places in the entire world with the highest incidences of inequalities based on gender. There are very few leadership positions with women in charge both in politics and businesses. This has been so for the past few years with no signs of any changes from the gathered reports in relation to women empowerment programs. The women are less recognized in so many ways making the gender seem to be more inferior as compared to that of the male gender. Feminist movements have been rising over the past few years so as to fight this although this has been met with serious challenges. Hong Kong has been home for sexism as well as inequality with little protest.
A good incident that can show the challenges faced by the feminist includes a breast walk which was held by feminist protestors based on the inequality gender. Ng Lai a woman was sentenced to three months and 15 days in prison for allegedly assaulting a police officer. This case was clearly explained that the police officer tried to reach out and touch her breast, but the judge accuses her of using female identity to trump the allegations (Postiglione & Tang, 2016). Such incidences posses as major challenges for the feminist. Over the past few years, serious struggles to bring inequality has been seen and with the hope of a change soon.
Politics over the past years in Hong Kong has been seen as the man's roles or duties. These are leadership roles which as per the traditions the roles are left behind for the men and the women to follow. This has been the major perception which has crowded the minds of many hence any chance of equality in the field has not been an option. This has seen to it that the talent of the women has gone unnoticed for quite some time (Lim, 2016). The men happen to have dominated this living the women behind with family responsibility. Some feminist movement have researched on these notions and based their argument on the upbringing of the girl child. The mothers bring up the girl child in a different manner that portrays that they are less equal to a man and that most of the leadership roles are for the man (Leung, 2017). This is seen within the education system in Hong Kong. The percentage of the male gender in the education centers has been twice that of the female gender hence meaning that the highest female population within Hong Kong is less educated (Pateman & Grosz, 2013). This has greatly impacted the female political careers since within Hong Kong education plays such a huge role in politics.
The education sector has faced major challenges since the women in the society are tasked with other responsibilities which do not give them a chance to engage in learning. Learning for many is based on simple facts of job opportunities in the country which is seen to be a problem in Hong Kong. The women lack the right motivation to pursuing their earning due to such discouragements (Ku, 2016). The education sector has less recognition for the female gender education hence greatly impacting. Over the past 30 years, the percentage of female learners has increased by just 20 percent making such a small significance in the learning system (Marchetti, 2017). This has been less promising for the female gender in Hong Kong. As this happens, the educational requirements seem to be intensifying hence reducing the chances of any hope of equality in the Hong Kong. The few female representatives also in politics facing major challenges in marking their positions for the other women.
The public display of inequality within the political grounds as well makes it harder for the feministic movement to fight for the women position in Hong Kong in 2013 the secretary for security Lai Tung Kwok state that women should not drink too much so as to avoid being raped on air. The statement was sexist in all manner. It showed no evidence of protection of the female gender at all (Justin & Tan, 2016). The statement shows the value the women have in the society and no action on the issue was taken hence diminishing the feminist movement on equal treatment in the society. For the women to find the needed respect, the leadership within Hong Kong has a huge role to play as said by Su-Mei Thompson who is the head of one of the non-profit Organization the Women Foundation that the government has to pass more rules which aid in the equalization of gender (Shiu-hing, 2016). The representation of both genders should be legally put in placing policies within the governing body that clearly states on the need of equal representation of all genders. These creases the bases of female political representation (Kennett, Chan, & Ngan, 2016). The legal stands need to protect the women in their political career. Lack of emphases on this result to less confidence in the female gender in relation to different endeavors. A good analysis is the case of Secretary for defense such comments lay down major sexism acts towards the women. The creation of an insecure feeling affects the fight towards equality in the gender. This is through the implication of less concern from the government. The absences of strict laws to fight such behavior (Jacobs, 2016). Over the past few years, cases of female harassment have been reported to have increased by 60 percent hence showing the small effort by the government to protect the female gender. With this happening the chances of getting a lady into the political field may seem like a threat to the male gender hence resulting and their leadership position.
The small female representation within the leadership results to fewer powers for the feminist movements within Hong Kong. This his has been the main reason behind the constant female positions in different sectors in Hong Kong for the past three years (Erni, & Leung, 2014). Women representation, particularly in politics within Hong Kong, has been constant with no improvement due to the different cultural ideologies of what is expected of a woman and what is expected of a man. The woman as seen in the introduction of the discussion is expected to care and cater to the family (Fiedler, 2016). This is seen in the setup in Hong Kong. The women are over welhed with duties and responsibilities where the few employed have to play their role as a mother. This burdens most of them and politics being such a demanding career, ends up limiting the number of women involved in it (Tang, 2015). A woman has to ensure the care of the child is in place as well as that of the family. The cultural ties which require the woman to meet these responsibilities in Hong Kong are very strict hence limiting the career of many (Chui & Wong, 2016). They are forced to either chose between career or family which most of the involved families seem. These choices between career have been mainly affected by the growing salary gaps between the female gender and the male gender. The male gender is paid more as compared to the female gender which seems to be a huge problem that seems to be growing continuously. This leaves the women dependent on the men and makes their fight for equality much harder. Little attention is given to the matter hence no improvement has been seen.
Exposure to the evolutions in gender equality has not been well embraced by many hence most of the voters find it had when embracing female willing to join politics. For the past ten years, there have been only ten females represented in the Legco (Chui & Wong, 2016). The report shows that in 1995 the number was five despite the expansion of the chamber from 60 to 70. This was due to the Chinese culture which deterred the female gender from the political participation. An interview with one of the female leaders in politics explains that she never opened up to her family that she was to run for office until elections came (Foss, 2017). This brought mixed reaction from the family. This has been a huge challenge for the female gender in politics (Cheung & Cheng, 2016). They are tied down by the family who plays such a huge role in such a decision. The argument that public affairs involve exposure of a person which is not under the female gender domain is still instilled in the minds of many within Hong Kong. This bring the issue on family image protection; they see to it that the family involved in this is indirectly bringing shame to its own hence tries to avoid this but they are happy to see it happening with other families (Gurran, Gallent & Chiu. 2016).
Another major issue is the distinct gap of experience in lawmaking processes between the men and the women. The men have advanced a lot in the sector creating a huge gap between the two genders. This has greatly impacted the involvement of women in politics. The fear of joining the already laid out game plan with the hope of catching up has seen a number of women interested in the political field drop out of this career (Cheng, 2014). This gap has been due to the long time it has taken to start having a breakthrough in gender inequality in Hong Kong. As the female gender took its time back at home, the male gender was down in books and practicing lawmaking. This was information from Regina Ip Lau Suk-Yee who is the founder of Pro-Established. Experiences is gained with time, and lack of involvement means no chance of gaining any that experience. Different movements, as well as Suk-yee, has been mentoring women on leadership and their need for involvement in making the different country laws. This means making them lawmakers. Through these campaigns, the women are shown the ability to have both a family as well as participate in political matters (Chan et al., 2016). The emphasize on sacrifices as a basic need for the women. So as to uphold the cultures among the Chinese which involves the prevention of abandoning the women's role in the society.
Ip also emphasizes the added advantage of a woman in the leadership position. They ply such a huge role in the management of state affair as well as the management of family affairs. This is where the advantage comes in; they are in a more better position of knowing the right choices for the state as well as the right ways to go about such matters, a clear translation of family management they happen to practice every day (Besnier & Alexeyeff, 2014). This is a motivation to the women so as to raise their involvement in the political field. The government in power also needs to address the issue by formulating more family-friendly policies which empower the women (Chang, 2016). As seen throughout the paper, the government has played minor roles in achieving the equality of both genders. Such policies will motivate the willingness of the women to participate in politics. This also manages to change the perception of most of the people as well as enlighten the voters on the need for all forms of leaders and gender equality. Different states, as well as countries, have adopted different leadership systems where women representatives are necessary requirement for the government of the particular countries to be legally effective. Such systems advocate for female leadership, especially in the political field. Gender equality in Hong Kong has been a major issue but so far slight changes are realized with time, and more improvements inequality are to be seen.
References
Besnier, N., & Alexeyeff, K. (Eds.). (2014). Gender on the edge: Transgender, gay, and other Pacific Islanders. Hong Kong University Press.
Chan, A. K. W., Ngai, G. S. K., & Choi, P. K. (2016). Contextualising the career pathways of women principals in Hong Kong: a critical examination. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 46(2), 194-213.
Chang, J. J. (2016). Ann Hui's Tin Shui Wai Diptych: The Flashback and Feminist Perception in Post-Handover Hong K...
Request Removal
If you are the original author of this essay and no longer wish to have it published on the customtermpaperwriting.org website, please click below to request its removal:
