**********************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Women's Commission:
The Women's Commission (WoC) released today (January 3) the results of a survey regarding the perception of women and men in Hong Kong towards women's status in social environments, and towards women's political and social participation.
WoC Chairperson, Ms Sophia Kao, said, "The major findings of the survey are that, nearly 70% of the community agreed that both genders had equal power and equal development opportunities in society, and 85% of people agreed that women were independent and autonomous nowadays. More women showed disagreement to the former statement while more men showed disagreement to the latter.
"Moreover, although women were more engaged in community activities and voluntary work, their political participation was lower than that of men."
According to the survey, women tended to express their views and demands in a more quiescent manner, such as signing petitions. Other ways, including rallies, parades or demonstrations were less participated by women than men. The participation of women in district consultation activities and consultation/information sessions on policies or livelihood issues was also lower than men.
On the community participation front, the survey suggested that around 30% of women participated in activities organised by local organisations in the past year while the participation rate for men was less than 20%. Moreover, there were more women who indicated participation in volunteer work during the period. Similarly, more women volunteers assisted in organising activities or acted as leaders of community organisations than their male counterparts in the past year.
The survey also found that half of women and 42% of men have not heard of Government advisory and statutory bodies. Even if they were invited to such public services, only less than 10% among them would accept the invitation, of which the number of women was lower than men.
When asked about their evaluation of the performance of men and women in terms of political leadership and community services, around 40% of people agreed that men performed better in political leadership than women, whereas women performed better in community services than men. The results indicated that gender stereotyping existed between men and women in terms of political participation. The largest proportion of people indicated neutrality when asked whether they had more confidence in women councillors.
The survey invited men to evaluate the status and the level of satisfaction of their spouses/companions in social environments while women were also asked to give their own ratings. A moderate score was received on the status of women in social environments, but the level of satisfaction towards women's status in social environments was relatively higher.
"Similar to the survey results released by the WoC concerning women's status at home and their level of satisfaction, the results indicated that society tended to accept a moderate status of women in social environments. It reflected that gender awareness needs to be enhanced," said Ms Kao.
The above survey was commissioned by WoC to Policy 21 Limited. Between February and May 2010, a total of 3,002 Hong Kong residents within a scientifically selected sample were successfully enumerated by means of face-to-face interviews.
The above survey results were weighted in proportion to the latest demographics of Hong Kong to reflect the situation of Hong Kong's population aged 18 or above.
Highlights of the survey findings are available on WoC's website (www.women.gov.hk).
Ends/Monday, January 3, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:01
NNNN