A Study of Gender Inequality in Hong Kong: Review of Literature

Ge, Li and Zhang analysed the gender wage gap using Hong Kong’s Census Department data from 2006. Although they found that the wage gap has been declining over the years, the income of men are still higher than those of women. Ge, Li and Zhang further examined the differences in the gender wage gaps across an income distribution by using the Machado and Mata method (2005). The authors found that the gender earnings gap are larger in higher and lower positions of the society, which means that both the “glass ceiling effect” and “sticky floor effect” is prominent in Hong Kong. The text stated another finding, which is gender apartheid is more commonly found in higher level positions, as many companies’ favours male workers, thus enlarging the gender earning gap.

Ridgeway and Correll stated that the gender system fuels gender discrimination, due to its characterize cultural beliefs. They further explained that those cultural cues imply male dominance due to the genders expected behaviour and traits. The authors stressed that in order to thoroughly reduce gender inequality, there are two solutions, one of which is to end categorizing people male and female, and the other is to push gender to its “ends”. They noted that although the former solution is difficult to be realized, the latter may be achieved. The writers’ strategy is to find interventions that would give women an equal opportunity to interact in society, one example that they gave was affirmative action. Ridgeway and Correll believe that through affirmative action, people in the workplace may modify their assumptions of competence women. The text further elucidated, that these modifications will spread from the local setting, into the society.

Yue’s research mainly focuses on the subjective dimension of gender inequality, as it is regularly disregarded in previous research. The author first noted a few objective facts, such as despite the growing trend of women working, they still hold a disadvantage in the labour market. He then theorised that the subjective dimension of gender prejudice impacts how one interprets, discern, and values gender inequality. The author asserted that the culture values of Hong Kong people their perceptions of inequality in society. He used the traditional Confucian ideology as an example, which suggest that married women would need to carry the “double burden” of working and being responsible for child care and domestic work, while men undertakes major roles in the community. Yue suggested that the patriarchal system is often extended into the workplace, thus women are more likely to take up auxiliary positions there.