While the causes of poverty are varied, one major contributing factor is the family responsibility of women, who are still perceived by many as the primary care-giver at home. As a result, many of them are unable to take up full-time employment, and can only work on a part-time basis with meagre wages. Worse, under the existing Employment Ordinance, part-time employees working for less than 18 hours a week are not entitled to any employment benefits, such as annual leave, sick leave allowance and year-end bonus.
To highlight the plight of women, EOC Chairperson Prof Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming wrote an article in the South China Morning Post and Ming Pao Daily on 14 August. Prof Chan said that the current policy not only raises an important issue of equality between part-time and full-time employees, but also affects women disproportionately, given that over 76% of part-time employees working less than 18 hours per week are women. He urged the Government to review the policy and introduce an alternative system of giving these part-time employees benefits on a pro-rata basis, as already implemented in many Western and other Asian societies.
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Read the press release
Learn more about the protection under the DDO
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We are very pleased that the EOC’s Annual Report 2015/16, entitled “We as One Celebrating Diversity”, has recently won the Gold Award in the 2016 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition organised by the League of American Communications Professionals LLC (LACP). The LACP was established in 2001 to provide a forum for discussing best-in-class practices among PR professionals, and recognise those who demonstrate exemplary communications behaviours. The Vision Awards Annual Report Competition, organised for the 15th year, attracted submissions from nearly 1,000 organisations from different industries and of different sizes across the globe in 2016.
The EOC’s Annual Report 2015/16 was published during the Commission’s 20th anniversary. Featuring a Chinese watercolour painting on the cover and Chinese calligraphy elements inside, the report was designed to bring out the concept of “succession” in traditional Chinese culture, and highlight the role of the EOC in helping to pass values of equal opportunities from generation to generation through the last two decades.
Read the 2015/16 Annual Report
See the results of the 2016 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition
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For the eighth year, The Women’s Foundation (TWF) is organising the “Talent, Empowerment, Equality and Networking” (T.E.E.N.) Programme for underprivileged youths. This youth empowerment programme aims to raise the youth participants’ awareness of stereotyping in their own lives and encourage discussion about prejudice and discrimination, while nurturing their commitment to diversity and inclusion. The EOC is delighted to partner with TWF on this innovative programme. On 31 July 2017, we hosted a visit for over 60 teens and their big brothers and sisters. Participants were given an informative talk on the concepts of stereotypes and discrimination, and engaged in discussion on how to avoid stereotypes in everyday life.
More details on the T.E.E.N. Programme
Go to the Facebook page of Youth Challenge
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Established in 2015, AIDA is a social enterprise dedicated to promoting barrier-free web access and the employment of persons with severe disabilities. The Association focuses on providing IT services for business enterprises and other organisations, and has so far worked on various projects, including the design and development of the award-winning website of The Hong Kong Society of Rehabilitation.
Online application form (Chinese only)
Learn more about AIDA
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Visit our website or download the EOC mobile app (Apple App Store / Google Play) to stay updated on the EOC’s work and positions, and to review our press releases and calendar training. 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.