Hong Kong to offer flexible employment for mothers

To help more working mothers stay employed, Hong Kong plans to launch a campaign pushing for flexible employment in the workforce.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam noted that it was important to retain mothers in the workforce while offering them better childcare support, noting that the female labour participation rate in Hong Kong is about 50%. 

“I am going to run a campaign soon to encourage employers, both in the public and private sectors, to offer flexible employment to working mothers, maybe three days a week, maybe by sessions or by working at home,” she said, according to South China Morning Post. 

Lam said she had prioritised a “pro-child” philosophy in social policy since she assumed her position in 2017, with the government rolling out the expansion of child services like after-school care to relieve the burden of working mothers. 

As of September, Hong Kong’s female labour participation rate was 54.2%, compared with 65.6% for men, according to data from the Census and Statistics Department. 

READ: Hong Kong’s unemployment rate falls to 4.5%

At least 50,000 or 10% of female homemakers aged 30 to 59 indicated that they were willing to work if suitable jobs with conditions meeting their needs were available, including flexible working hours, a reasonable salary, and a workplace near home, according to a survey by the department in 2018.