It appears gender discrimination is rife in Hong Kong’s financial industry, based on the results of the 2012 Diversity Survey just released by eFinancialCareers.
The survey covered over 360 finance professionals working in Hong Kong, and found nearly half of finance professionals are not aware of any gender diversity initiatives put in place by financial institutions to address this issue. It is feared that the lack of gender diversity awareness may be undermining the competitiveness of Hong Kong as a regional finance center and gateway for the Greater China market.
According to the survey, just over half of respondents claim that gender discrimination takes place within the financial services sector. Women are even more definite, with two thirds agreeing that gender discrimination occurs, compared with 44% of men. While 64% of respondents agree women are equally represented at senior levels in their company, over half think the proportion of women sitting on their company board is not equal to that of men. On the plus side, 7 out of 10 respondents believe that the number of women in top management positions in the finance industry will increase in the next five years.
George McFerran, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, eFinancialCareers commented that establishing and maintaining gender diversity programmes is an obvious need for those in HR—with over half of women surveyed stating that a clear policy and established practices in diversity are very important when selecting a future employer. However, 49% of respondents said they did not know whether their firm has any explicit gender diversity programme or targets. Over a third of respondents believe pay inequality between men and women in Hong Kong’s financial services persists. This sentiment is even stronger among women, with 56% agreeing that an income gap does exist. Nonetheless, Hong Kong-based finance professionals remain optimistic, and half of surveyed respondents believe that the income gap will narrow over the next five years.
McFerran concluded, “Hong Kong is the Greater China hub for many multinational banks and financial institutions and plays a strategic role for expansions into mainland China. As global banks continue to grow their presence in China, their local operations and HR policies will be required to comply with international standards.” He added, “Hong Kong banks need to raise greater awareness for workplace diversity. Putting the right employee diversity initiatives in place to support gender equality is important to Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a global financial player and gateway to China’s growing financial services market.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
