In supporting the United Nations' International Women's Day, Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), Mr. Raymond TANG said, "Gender equality and human rights for all are essential to the well-being of the individual, the community and the world."
 
Mr. TANG continued, "In Hong Kong, women now take on a more prominent role in all walks of life. Yet, they also face growing pressure to achieve work life balance in their daily lives. Pregnancy discrimination has been the single largest category of complaint under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) since 2002. The EOC has taken active steps to address such issues. Two TV APIs on pregnancy discrimination will be launched to remind employers that the dismissal of employees during their pregnancy may be an obvious form of discrimination, the dismissal of women upon their return from maternity leave may also be unlawful."

"To ensure gender equality in the workplace, employers should adopt equal opportunities policies. In order to help employees to be productive in managing work and personal life, employers can consider adopting family friendly policies and offering flexible work arrangements," Mr. TANG added.

"I believe that equal opportunities and social accountability provide an enabling and empowering framework for the individual, man or woman, to benefit from economic development." Mr. TANG concluded.

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