Welcome Address

Ms. Anna WU Hung-yuk, JP
Chairperson
Equal Opportunities Commission

Conference on Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value
18 March 2000

Ladies and gentlemen,
1.		Good morning.  Welcome to the conference on “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value” organised by the Equal Opportunities Commission.
2.		It is good to see so many of you here today representing a diverse make-up of the various sections of the community, such as government, employers, women’s organisations, trade unions, human resource practitioners, academia and, of-course, interested individuals. 
3.		In Hong Kong, we are familiar with the concept of “Equal Pay for Equal Work” and have long upheld this principle.  It is relatively straightforward and causes few arguments although the task of identifying ‘same work’ is not always as simple as it seems.  And this principle in many instances reduce wage differences between women and men. 
4.		The situation is rather different with the principle of “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value”, which is the principle that where women undertake work as demanding as that of their male counterparts, even though the work is different, women should receive the same pay and benefits.  That is, work of equal value warrants equal pay.
5.		Traditionally, stereotypes about the appropriate role for women have made it extremely difficult for them to obtain the type of jobs that men held.   At the same time, women may also have internalised these stereotypical roles and choose not to receive the necessary training to enter male dominated professions.  Notably, in the past, women were excluded from or had limited presence in fields such as medicine, law, business, technology and skilled trades.  This segregation of women and men into different jobs has also led to occupational disparities with women being disproportionately represented in the lowest paid occupations, such as service and manual trades, and jobs that involved giving care.   
6.		Globally, it appears to be the trend that pay for female dominated occupations has tended to lag behind that of male-dominated occupations even when they were in comparable jobs because female dominated occupations are generally considered to be less demanding.  It is no different in Hong Kong.

7.		Women make up almost half of the population here but their labour force participation rate has historically been much lower than that of men.  For example, women’s labour force participation rate in December 1999 was only 49.5% compared with 74.8% for men (Census & Statistics Dept., December 1999).  
8.		In terms of pay differentials, women are generally paid a lower salary than men across industry and occupational groups.  According to government statistics in September 1999, women’s average daily wages in the manufacturing sector were between 19%-36% lower than their male counterparts.  Further examples may also be found in other sectors such as in the banking sector, the average monthly salaries of female supervisory, technical, clerical and miscellaneous non-production workers were 4% lower than their male counterparts.  Instances where men were paid less than women can also be found, such as in the retail industry, the average monthly salaries of male supervisory, technical, clerical and miscellaneous non-production workers were 9% lower than their female counterparts.  These figures reveal that there may be issues of Equal Pay for Equal Work as well as “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value”  (Census & Statistics Dept., September 1999).  Clearly, these data by themselves are not conclusive indicators of wage discrimination as there could be a number of reasons for wage differentials. But equally, it is difficult to ignore these data because sex discrimination may well be a factor.  It is evident that further and ongoing studies are required in this area to monitor this trend and identify the causes of wage differentials in the various sectors.
9.		The Commission has a statutory duty to eliminate discrimination and to promote equal opportunities for both sexes.  We support the implementation of “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value” and believe that achieving it is necessary to eliminating pay disparity on the ground of sex.  Currently, the Sex Discrimination Ordinance provides that it is unlawful to discriminate against an employee on the ground of sex in the terms of employment.   
10.		Under the number of treaties applicable to Hong Kong, of particular relevance is the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, or CEDAW for short.  Article 11(1)(d) of CEDAW provides for the ‘right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality of treatment in the evaluation of the quality of work’.  The government has a duty to promote compliance with this Convention.
11.		We are aware that the government is currently looking to develop measures to progressively implement the principle of “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value”, as guaranteed by CEDAW.
12.		Similar to CEDAW, the provisions of the Equal Remuneration Convention No. 100 of the International Labour Organisation also guarantee “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value”.  
13.		The Commission has specifically been asked by the Home Affairs Bureau to include “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value” in its portfolio and we have already made a start three years ago by asking employers to maintain this principle in the Code of Practice on Employment under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance and to seek its progressive implementation.

14.		The Commission is aware that there has been limited public debate on this concept and the conference today will bring it into the public arena for discussion.  We are very fortunate to have with us, many experts who will give us their perspectives on this issue.
15.		We are particularly honoured to have both Mr. Mathew CHEUNG, the Commissioner for Labour, and Ms. Constance THOMAS of the International Labour Office, here to give us the SAR and the international perspective.  Professor SUNG Yun-wing of the Chinese University of Hong Kong will outline some of the pros and cons of implementing such a principle.
16.		The Hon. Mr. LEE Cheuk-yan, a member of the Legislative Council and the General Secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions will share with us the trade unions’ views while Ms. Carole PETERSEN, Associate Professor of the University of Hong Kong and a member of the Association of Business and Professional Women, will talk about the perspective of the women’s movement on the subject.   Mr. Patrick MAULE, Director of Aon Consulting and an expert in human resource management, will look at the subject from the human resource management’s perspective.
17.		I am sure you will agree that the speakers today will present a wide spectrum of views for discussion.  I look forward to hearing from them as well as from you, the participants.  Simultaneous Interpretation is provided at this conference, so please feel free to speak in the language of your choice.
Thank you.