On 14 May 2021, the EOC officially announced the results of its inaugural Equal Opportunity Employer Recognition Scheme at an awards presentation ceremony held in the EOC office. Officiating at the ceremony as the Guest of Honour was the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick TSANG Kwok-wai, IDSM, JP.

Welcoming the guests and awardees, EOC Chairperson Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin, IDS said, “We applaud the efforts and achievements of the 160 organisations named as Equal Opportunity Employers, and extend our gratitude to all the participating organisations for their enthusiastic support. Notwithstanding the stark challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, these organisations remain steadfast in their commitment to the values of equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion. We are also thankful to the members of the assessment panels including our EOC Members, for lending us their expertise in selecting the Equal Opportunity Employers.”

Organised by the EOC for the very first time, the Scheme – a major highlight of the Commission’s 25th anniversary programme – aims to raise awareness of the benefits of equal opportunity employment policies and practices, and encourage more employers to adopt these policies. Companies and organisations in both public and private sectors may enrol on any one or all four categories of the Scheme, namely Gender Equality, Equality for Diverse Abilities, Family Status Equality and Racial Equality and Inclusion. 

The EOC received 420 applications from 192 organisations across a wide spectrum of industries and sectors. Together they account for over 220,000 employees in Hong Kong. After careful and thorough review by the assessment panels, comprised of 28 experts and professionals hailing from various sectors, as well as EOC Members, a total of 160 organisations were selected and honoured as Equal Opportunity Employers. Among these, 14 were bestowed with the Gold Award for their remarkable achievements in all four categories of the Scheme, while another 10 organisations were presented with the Outstanding SME Award.

Live-streamed online, the ceremony saw the presentation of the Gold Award and the Outstanding SME Award. Owing to social distancing measures, the presentation of certificates to other Equal Opportunity Employers will be held separately on 21 and 26 May 2021.

The Audit Commission recently released a report on education support for non-Chinese-speaking (NCS) students, echoing many of the concerns the EOC has raised in the past, including the need for periodic monitoring of the implementation of support measures and better capacity-building of teachers teaching Chinese as a second language. To further raise awareness of the issues, EOC Chairperson, Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin published an article in Hong Kong Free Press, Hong Kong Economic Journal, Inmedia and Stand News this month.

The number of NCS students in Hong Kong has been steadily growing. In order to ensure a level playing field where they can fully realise their potential both at school and later at work, facilitating their acquisition of the Chinese language is of primary importance. Acknowledging that the problem is not one of inadequate funding – the Government allocated HK$456.3 million from 2015/16 to 2019/20 for schools to support learning among NCS students – Mr Chu wrote that there appears to be a gap between policy intention and implementation.

Specifically, teachers are not getting enough incentive to receive in-service professional training, as noted in the EOC’s 2019 report Closing the Gap. Also, a fully-fledged Chinese-as-a-second-language curriculum has yet to be developed; ideally every level of learning should have corresponding pedagogies, teaching tools and textbooks. Last but not the least, without periodic tracking and reporting of the progress of support measures, one can never ascertain their success and identify ways to enhance their effectiveness.

“Hong Kong has to look at its resources to future-proof itself. Its people are its most valuable resource. Having this home grown talent of non-Chinese youngsters who call Hong Kong home, and yet leaving them inadequately skilled to serve its society is poor planning to say the least and a waste of resources. It is also not fair for the students,” said Mr Chu. “It is time to fix this gaping hole in our education system, not simply because it is the right thing to do, but because it is an investment in Hong Kong’s future.”

During 1-14 May 2021, the EOC put up posters at nearly 60 MTR stations to raise awareness of the protections against sexual harassment, disability harassment and racial harassment in common workplaces under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, Disability Discrimination Ordinance and Race Discrimination Ordinance respectively.

Under the Ordinances, it is unlawful for a workplace participant to subject another workplace participant to sexual, disability or racial harassment at the workplace where they both work or attend. Workplace participants are defined to include employers, employees, interns, volunteers, partners in a firm, contract workers and their principals, as well as commission agents and their principals.

In practice, examples of common workplaces may include department stores where salespersons employed by different brands work, fundraising booths manned by NGO workers and volunteers, or auto trade shows attended by venue staff and models, etc.  

Download our explainer here to learn more about how the law defines sexual, disability and racial harassment.

Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service CARE College will organise a virtual conference entitled “Strategies for Carer Diversity” on 28 May 2021, funded by The Community Chest of Hong Kong. From family-friendly employment practices and the specific needs of male and ethnic minority carers to the role of community support and digital technology, the event touches on an extensive range of issues essential to improving the quality of life of carers in Hong Kong. It also boasts a line-up of local and overseas professionals as keynote speakers and panellists.

Click the links below to register and view the programme rundown.