Fe14 Gender Pay Gap

St.
Joseph’s College
S.4 English –Elective Module: Social Issues
Theme: Gender Pay Gap
Name: _______________________ Class: ________ Class no.: ________ Date: ____________
Read the articles and answer the following questions.
The Situation
On average, women in Hong Kong still

earn less than men in the same roles
Women are on average still paid HK$15 less than men, according to new numbers released by
the government.
The statistics, which were compiled and released by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics
Department, showed that when arranged from lowest to highest salary, the median hourly salary
of women in Hong Kong in 2017 was HK$60.50, compared to HK$75.90 for men.
However, when viewed according to age, the data showed that men and women in the 15-24 age
bracket were paid roughly the same per hour, with women on average receiving HK$50 to men’s
HK$49.
In terms of median monthly income, young women in the 15-19 age bracket earned a median
monthly income of HK$3,100, while young men in the same age range earned HK$5,300.
If measured by level of education, men who had received post-secondary education were paid
HK$118.30 per hour, while women with the same level of education only received HK$97.80.
The statistics also showed that women are far more likely to leave their jobs to take care of
family members with disabilities than men, with 8,500 women quitting their day job in 2013 to
care for relatives, compared with 3,100 men.
Some students expressed disappointment at the news of the gender pay gap. Tiffany Wong, 16,
from Discovery College, was concerned about traditional views on men and women affecting
wages.
“I think that this is due to the belief [that] women are better suited to doing housework or staying
at home,” she said, “while men are more suited to working and managing and, therefore, people
[tend to] consider them better for higher paid jobs.”
She added that the government should implement a system to get rid of the gender pay gap.
By Edmund Ho, YoungPost
1
Census: an official count or survey of a Post-secondary: relating to education at a
population. level beyond that provided by schools,
typically that provided by a college or
university
Implement: put (a decision, plan,
agreement, etc.) into effect.
1. According to the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, what is the existing gap
discrepancy in Hong Kong for young people?
2. What is the pay gap like for people with a university or college degree?
3. In your opinion, what reason(s) is there for a pay gap to exist in Hong Kong, especially after
people graduate from university or college?
What can be Done in the Courts
Is gender pay inequality a problem in

Hong Kong?
Men and women in the city clearly earn different levels of income, but whether that is something
to be fixed is where opinions vary.
There was quite a commotion in Hollywood when it was revealed that Michelle Williams was
paid less than 1 per cent of what her male co-star received for reshooting scenes of crime
thriller All the Money in the World.
On the other side of the Atlantic, public service broadcaster BBC came under fire after its China
editor Carrie Gracie resigned over pay inequality disputes.
Hong Kong suffers from the problem of gender pay gap just like anywhere else. Despite being an
international finance center that prides itself on a fair and open business environment, the city
still sees its working women earn at least thousands of dollars less than their male counterparts
2
on average, according to government figures.
Activists say the problem of pay inequality locally has persisted for years because there are more
men at executive and management levels while women are still widely perceived as
homemakers. Such societal attitudes have prevented many women from being treated equally at
work.
Lawyers say although they have noticed some people working in the same roles being paid less,
possibly because of their gender, current legislation on anti-sex discrimination has done little to
close the gap. The legislation encourages reconciliation when employees are in a weaker position
to confront their bosses.
Such observations come after Iceland recently became the first country in the world to legalize
equal pay, making it illegal to pay men and women differently for doing the same work.
The law, which came into effect on January 1, requires companies and government agencies
employing at least 25 people to obtain government certification showing they pay everyone in
the same roles equally, regardless of gender. Those who fail to get the certification will face
fines.
When asked whether the Hong Kong government would follow in Iceland’s footsteps, a
spokesman for the Labour and Welfare Bureau, which oversees the Women’s Commission, says
the bureau doesn’t have a designated team to focus on gender-pay equality issues.
Burden of proof
Although the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, which came into force in 1996, prohibits
discrimination against either men or women on the basis of sex, marital status and pregnancy in
seven public domains including employment, a lack of transparency in some companies’ pay
scales has made it extremely difficult for complainants to establish their claims, according to
Puja Kapai, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong.
“The legislation itself provides the scope for this kind of claim, but it’s about the practical
implementation,” she says. “You really need a lot of transparency to be able to confidently say
that any difference in pay is purely on the basis of gender.”
Kapai adds that the legislation’s requirement of attempting reconciliation poses challenges.
“It puts a lot of claimants in a very difficult position because oftentimes they don’t necessarily
want to confront their very powerful employers.”
Lawyer Chong Yiu-kwong echoes Kapai’s view, adding: “We have a law in place when it comes
to gender equality, but it has loopholes.”
To reduce the gender pay gap, Kapai suggests the government carry out a policy more closely
tied to employers’ liabilities, such as requiring them to file data about their pay terms.
Chong, who is also a senior lecturer at the Education University’s department of education policy
3
and leadership, says there should be an ordinance tailor-made for gender pay equality. But he is
skeptical about the effectiveness of criminalizing unequal pay based on gender as Iceland now
does, mainly because of the city’s different legal setting and culture.
He observes there has been relatively little debate locally on gender pay equality because the
issue is “not obvious” in daily life. And the lack of awareness makes it hard to recognize there is
a problem.
“Lots of people in Hong Kong think they are already living in a pretty advanced, open and fair
society,” Chong says. “They think it’s already good enough to see more and more women joining
the workforce.
“We don’t have that kind of awareness to recognize there’s a problem when women are paid less
than men.”
From January to November last year, the EOC received 168 complaints, mostly relating to sexual
harassment and pregnancy discrimination, and none were on the grounds of gender pay
inequality.
By Yupina Ng, South China Morning Post
Commotion: a state of confused and Counterpart: a person or thing that

noisy disturbance. corresponds to or has the same function as
another person or thing in a different place or
situation.
Legislation: the process of making or Prohibit: formally forbid (something) by law,
enacting laws. rule, or other authority.
Ordinance: an authoritative order or local Reconciliation: the restoration of friendly

law relations
4. What are the major rules in the 1996 Sex Discrimination Ordinance?
5. Why might a victim not come forward if they are affected by the pay gap?
4
6. What did Iceland do so that it would have strong anti-discrimination laws against the gender
pay gap?
7. In your opinion, what can be done in Hong Kong to eliminate the gender pay gap?
Have at least 2 things that can be done.

Fe14 Gender Pay Gap

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fe14 Gender Pay Gap

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fe14 Gender Pay Gap

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

St.

Name: ___________ Class: Class no.: Date:

Read the articles and answer the following questions.

On average, women in Hong Kong still

By Edmund Ho, YoungPost

What can be Done in the Courts

Is gender pay inequality a problem in

By Yupina Ng, South China Morning Post

Commotion: a state of confused and Counterpart: a person or thing that

Ordinance: an authoritative order or local Reconciliation: the restoration of friendly

You might also like