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E-news Issue 228

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You can’t fix poverty without fixing discrimination

Last month, the Government announced plans for a HK$10-billion welfare package intended to alleviate poverty and empower the underprivileged. But a fundamental question remains: why are certain communities struggling with poverty more than others, and how does discrimination and social exclusion come into play?

EOC Chairperson, Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin published an article in The South China Morning Post (SCMP) and Ming Pao Daily News this month, arguing that the fight against poverty is futile if discrimination is sidestepped or remains unresolved.

“Denying anyone an equal opportunity to learn, fulfil his or her potential, get a job or develop a career because of gender, disability, race, family responsibility or other qualities is discrimination, which breeds social exclusion – a straight road to economic disempowerment,” wrote Mr Chu. “Worse, poverty can become a stigma, equated with a lack of talent, initiative or ambition, creating a vicious circle where marginalised communities internalise these labels.”

Mr Chu went on to chronicle how entrenched barriers in education and employment curtail social mobility for ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, pregnant women and carers in Hong Kong.

He wrote, “From offering disability awareness training for organisations and calling for the statutory right for women to return to their jobs after maternity leave, to launching the Racial Diversity and Inclusion Charter for Employers and urging an overhaul of ethnic minority education policy, the EOC has been working on multiple fronts to promote an inclusive society – not only because it is a basic human right to be free from discrimination, but also because the path out of poverty depends on it.”

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