Press Releases
Enthusiastic response to open forum held by Women's Commission
The Women's Commission held an open forum today (July 21) at the Hong Kong Science Museum. Response has been very enthusiastic, about 300 people from 80 women's organizations, service agencies, higher education institutions, community groups and representatives from Government departments attended the forum to discuss the future direction of work of the Women's Commission.
"I am glad to hear so many different and valuable views at the forum. This allows the Women's Commission to have a firm grasp of the concerns and needs of women in mapping out its future direction of work," Mrs Sophie Leung, Chairperson of the Women's Commission, said. "I am also glad to see that the general direction of work proposed by the Women's Commission is generally endorsed by those attending the public forum.
"I am particularly delighted to see such enthusiastic response from community groups and Government departments. This reflects the importance people attach to women's development as well as the high level of expectation they have of our Commission. We are much encouraged by the support we have received. It will further strengthen our commitment to advance the women's cause."
The Mission of the Women's Commission is: "To enable women to fully realize their due status, rights, and opportunities in all aspects of life".
Noting the concerns raised by various women's associations and service agencies, the Commission has identified three priority areas of action, namely, gender mainstreaming, public education, and empowerment of women. To take forward work in these three areas, three Task Forces have been set up to develop relevant strategies and plans of implementation.
The Gender Mainstreaming Task Force is co-convened by Dr Agnes Yeung and Professor Judith Mackay. "We believe that gender perspectives should be an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all public policy formulation," said Dr Yeung. "The principal task of the Task Force is to develop a gender mainstreaming checklist to facilitate the Government to assess and review whether gender perspectives have appropriately been taken into account.
"We are working to produce a draft checklist of questions for gender mainstreaming within this year. The checklist will then be tried on policy areas of Health and Welfare Bureau to test out its feasibility and practicality. In drawing up our future work plan, we will consult relevant parties, including policy bureaux , departments and women's associations.
"We recognize that enhancing civil servants' understanding and raising their awareness on women related concerns is an important element. The Task Force has therefore planned gender-sensitive training programmes for them," Dr Yeung added.
The Empowerment Task Force is co-convened by Ms Sophia Kao and Dr Joseph Kwok. Ms Kao said, "At present, some members of the society have pre-conceived ideas about the role and even the ability of women. For instance, it is usually women who play the role as carer of the family; the mother who teaches and guides children; and that women are more suited to do some jobs and not others. They restrict the full realization of women's potential.
"Women have special needs in areas such as physical and mental health, and they face different barriers and difficulties. These include sexual violence and domestic violence problems, lack of formal education opportunities while they were young, unemployment at middle age, the digital divide, immense pressures faced by working women with dual roles, single parent families lacking sufficient support, as well as difficulties faced by disabled women. All these lead us to feel that there is a need to empower women.
"We have identified the focus areas of empowerment of women to include health, education, safety at home and in public (i.e. problems related to violence), economic well-being as well as women's participation in decision-making and social affairs," said Ms Kao.
The Public Education Task Force is co-convened by Mrs Peggy Lam and Ms Ophelia Cheung. "One of the objectives of the Task Force is to enhance public understanding of the work of the Women's Commission through publicity and promotion. The Task Force aims to eliminate gender prejudices and stereotyping. It will work to enhance public awareness and understanding of gender-related issues," Mrs Lam noted.
The Public Education Task Force has been requested to devise a PR and publicity strategy for the Women's Commission, develop an action plan for public education programmes, and oversee the implementation of such programmes. It will take forward its work in the above areas. "The Task Force will co-ordinate and work closely with the Gender Mainstreaming Task Force and the Empowerment Task Force in drawing up its strategies and plans," Mrs Lam added.
"The Women's Commission will organize a major convention in 2002, and we will commence the preparatory work shortly. The Task Force is also planning other public education and publicity programmes."
In her concluding remarks at the forum, Mrs Sophie Leung said views and comments raised at the forum would be organized and analysed by the Commission. They will be incorporated into the Commission's work plans as appropriate.
She continued, "The Women's Commission will take a strategic overview to promote women's interests during the processes of policy and legislation formulation. However, to enable women to fully realize their due status, rights and opportunities in all aspects of life, one effective means will be for women to help each other. For example, community women groups may set up small scale mutual aid childcare centres and co-operatives; various women's groups could seek to co-operate through sharing of experience. All these allow women to take their first step towards success.
"In order to make the maximum impact in advancing the well-being of women, the Government and the non-governmental sectors should collaborate and work in partnership with each other. There is considerable scope for mutual co-operation," Mrs Leung concluded.
The Women's Commission was established in early 2001. It is a central body tasked to promote the well-being and interests of women. The Commission will develop a long-term vision and strategy for the development and advancement of women, and it will address matters of concern to women in a holistic and systematic manner.
The Women's Commission comprises the Chairperson, Mrs Sophie Leung, and 21 members, including 17 non-official members and four ex-officio members who are Secretary for Health and Welfare, Secretary for Home Affairs, Secretary for Education and Manpower and Director of Social Welfare.
End/Saturday, July 21, 2001
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