27 March 2013
Issue 74
27 March 2013
Issue 74
Members of the EOC met on 21 March 2013 at the 100th EOC Meeting and discussed various matters related to the Commission’s business, including the proposal to undertake a comprehensive review of the legislation in light of the last 18 years of experience in Hong Kong as well as international developments. The review aims to modernize, harmonize and simplify the four anti-discrimination Ordinances, and to provide for the promotion and mainstreaming of equality rights in other areas not currently covered by the existing legislation. The Commission also reviewed the work of the EOC in 2012. Members noted that the number of general public enquiries had increased considerably from 2011. Members also noted that the EOC had conducted more training courses for the public and private sectors.
Read the press release
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In his Message in the latest EOC News (issue 59), the EOC Chairperson, Mr. LAM Woon-kwong, discusses how the values of equality, inclusion and diversity can help Hong Kong achieve its aspirations. He pointed to the results of a 2010 public survey in which Hongkongers picked four key elements that they want the city to possess: Creativity and Diversity; Better Quality of Life; Freedom and Enjoyment; and Striving for Excellence. He argued that providing equal opportunities for all can facilitate Hong Kong to achieve each of these elements. For instance, to achieve better quality of life, we must enable our workers to better balance the demands of their career and personal lives through supportive measures. To enhance freedom and enjoyment, we must ensure that all people, including people with disability and ethnic minorities, can freely participate in and enjoy a level playing field. “By ensuring that everyone has equal access to the opportunities this city has to offer, we can make Hong Kong better for all,” said Mr. Lam.
Read the article
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A sharing session of the youth mentorship programme, “Career Challenge 2012/13,” was held by EOC on 26 March 2013. Pop singer Mr. Anthony WONG Yiu-ming shared with about one hundred students his stories of battling stereotypes and overcoming barriers. He urged the students to not let stereotypes colour their worldview and limit their aspirations.
2013 marks the 11th year of “Career Challenge”, which aims to encourage youths to reject stereotypes and develop their own interests and abilities. Career Challenge 2012/13 has been registered as an “Other Learning Experience (OLE) Programme” in the Activity Data Bank of the Education Bureau. Videos of the sessions are regularly uploaded on the EOC Youtube channel for public viewing, and summaries of the sharing are available on the Career Challenge website.
Read the press release
More details about Career Challenge 2012/13
Find Career Challenge on Facebook
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Sexual harassment remains a common complaint received by the EOC under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance. According to the EOC’s recent study, half of all students surveyed have faced some form of sexual harassment. Many of the student respondents were unaware of what constitutes harassment acts, and those who have been harassed were too scared or embarrassed to seek help. In recent radio interviews, Dr. John TSE, the Convenor of the EOC’s Policy and Research Committee, reiterated the seriousness of the issue. “The problem is more common than many realise,” said Dr. Tse. “Such behaviour, left unaddressed, can lead to other issues including bullying and violence.”
Many ethnic minority women, particularly foreign domestic workers, may be at high risk for sexual harassment due to the nature of their job as well as to linguistic and cultural barriers to accessing their protection and rights under the law. To enhance awareness on this issue, the EOC has been conducting workshops on sexual harassment to various ethnic minority groups throughout the year 2012/13. In March 2013, the EOC collaborated with the NGO Enrich to provide training on sexual harassment and the Sex Discrimination Ordinance to foreign domestic workers. Please contact us if you would like to provide similar workshops to your organisation.
Listen to Dr. John TSE’s interview on RTHK5 (on 13/3/2013, in Cantonese only)
Listen to Dr. John TSE’s interview on RTHK2 (on 14/3/2013, in Cantonese only)
Learn more about your rights under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance
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The last episode of the EOC’s 2013 docu-drama series, “A Mission for Equal Opportunities” (非常平等任務), produced by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), aired on 26 March 2013. The episode focused on various characters’ struggles for their rights under the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance in areas such as employment and the provision of goods, facilities and services. “A Mission for Equal Opportunities” is part of the EOC’s effort to enhance public understanding of equal opportunities issues. Six episodes were produced for the year 2013 to cover various scenarios of discrimination, including difficulties faced by ethnic minorities in the education system, pregnancy discrimination in employment and employers’ responsibilities of preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.
Members of the public who are interested to learn more about these and other equal opportunities issues may wish to check out past episodes of the EOC’s radio segment titled “Anti-discrimination News Weekly (奇人歧視週報)”, which was broadcast on Commercial Radio 1 (FM88.1-89.5) from March to November 2012. Please click on the links below for more details.
More on the 2013 series of “A Mission for Equal Opportunities”
Watch previous years’ episodes of “A Mission for Equal Opportunities”
Listen to past episodes of “Anti-discrimination News Weekly”
Learn more about the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance
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With a view to changing traditional views about gender roles and advancing gender equality, the EOC has been airing a joint programme with RTHK Radio 1 (FM 92.6-94.4) in Cantonese called “Women Pioneers”. The show is on the air every Saturday from 22:20 to 24:00 and features in-depth interviews of women pioneers who have broken new ground or overcome gender stereotypes and barriers. The next guest for 30 March 2013 will be FU Mingxia, the Olympic gold medalist in diving. Do tune in to hear more inspiring stories before the programme finishes its run on 20 April 2013!
Listen to previous episodes
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Stay updated on the EOC's work and positions by referring to our press releases, speeches, media interviews, and calendar training on our website. Also, stay tuned on other equal opportunities issues and community initiatives by visiting our community resources and community events pages for information from our community partners, including publications, survey reports, publicity campaigns, and upcoming conferences.