Workplace gender disparity widens in Hong Kong
- Claire Lee
Women holding top jobs in Hong Kong are paid one fifth less than their male counterparts, according to the latest general household survey by the Census and Statistics Department.
Female workers in managerial positions earned HK$9,800 (US$1,248) less each month than their male counterparts of the same rank over April to June, data showed. The pay gap between women and men widened to 19.6%, from 15.8% last year, and 6.98% five years ago.
Among working professionals, women earned 15.6% less than men, an increase from the 11.1% pay gap in 2017. The gender pay gap also widened with age, increasing from 2.14% among those aged 15 to 24, to 28% for those aged 45 to 54.
Across the entire Hong Kong workforce however, the gender pay gap narrowed from 22.5% in 2018 to 13% in 2021, although women, in general, fared worse during economic downturns.
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Alexa Chow Yee-ping, managing director of AMAC Human Resources Consultants, told the South China Morning Post, “Women are relatively less privileged than men. Lay-offs also target women disproportionately due to gender discrimination. For senior positions especially, some employers think it’s better to have men.”
