A New Perspective on Gender Equality

The United Nation’s 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW68) was held in New York between March 11 and 22 this year, and student representatives were selected from universities in Hong Kong to attend a parallel event hosted by Hong Kong Federation of Women (HKFW). Doris Chan was one of them.   

“It’s a wonderful event that gathers the voices of women from all walks of life,” says the Year 4 student, who is now completing her Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy. The priority theme to this year’s UNCSW68 is “accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”. For Doris, her focus was on education for women in Hong Kong. “We got to explore in depth and understand what is being done in Hong Kong, especially by NGOs, to advocate for gender equality.”    

Born and bred in Hong Kong, Doris says she is lucky enough to not have experienced any discrimination based on her gender. Prior to the UNCSW68 event, she had not given too much thought on issues of gender equality. So when she decided to be part of this event, she conducted extensive research on the subject, which opened her eyes to many issues faced by women in Hong Kong.  

One particularly memorable finding was that according to a report by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), one in five women experienced workplace discrimination during pregnancy, maternity leave or in the first year after giving birth. “I really got to listen to others’ voices. Some participants were from the Half the Sky program organised by HKFW,” says Doris. “This event gave me a new perspective and made me realise that I’m passionate about female empowerment, so I’d like to advocate for gender quality in my own ways even after I graduate.”  

Doris says she is very grateful for her positive experience at HKU. It has laid the foundation and developed the skills she needed to support her cause. “HKU has given me many learning opportunities. I think I need to continue to enrich my knowledge and broaden my horizons by joining more of these different activities,” she admits.  

“HKU has also equipped me with the necessary knowledge and skills to conduct in-depth research, which was really helpful when I was looking into issues faced by women in Hong Kong during the UNCSW68 selection process,” she says. “I was able to translate the skills I gained from my academic studies in Pharmacy into the preparation work for this conference.”  

During the conference, she also had the opportunity to learn about the Half the Sky programme backed by HKFW, a career platform and training scheme for young women leaders. Doris intends to apply for the programme so she can further her advocacy for gender equality. “We need to fight for women’s rights. It’s not just affecting the current generation, but also the next. We need to speak up for all women and, in particular, address issues surrounding workplaces, education and ethnic minorities.”