Carrie Lam made these remarks while attending the International Women's Summit held in Hong Kong, emphasizing that the HKSAR government has always focused on improving the status of women and changing biases against women, playing an important role in policy formulation, enhancing public participation, and strengthening international cooperation.
How to achieve a balance between family and work has always been a concern for women. Carrie Lam stated that the HKSAR government will make more efforts to encourage more women to develop their careers while taking good care of their families. Relevant departments of the HKSAR government have recently conducted a survey to study the reasons for the resignation of professional women in Hong Kong and seek ways to encourage them to return to the workforce.
Carrie Lam stated that women are an important part of Hong Kong's labor force, and Hong Kong is facing challenges such as an aging society and a shortage of labor, making the role of female labor even more critical.
Vice Chairperson of the All-China Women's Federation, Meng Xiaosi, stated that the country has always paid attention to women's issues and made practical efforts to change women's social status and protect women's rights. For example, in 2009, the country began implementing small guaranteed loans for women and a full interest subsidy policy. By the end of 2013, a total of 180.3 billion yuan in small guaranteed loans for women had been issued, with central and local finances providing 11.3 billion yuan in interest subsidies, directly supporting 3.58 million urban and rural women in entrepreneurship and creating nearly 20 million jobs; the central government allocated special funds to provide free breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings for 31.15 million rural women; to promote the development of female talent, a project was implemented in 2009 to study and promote the growth of high-level female talent, researching the growth patterns of female talent and formulating relevant policies. Meng Xiaosi expressed hope that through this forum, women's organizations in Hong Kong and the mainland can strengthen cooperation and mutual assistance, increasing cohesion.
The President of the Hong Kong Women's Federation Representative Association, Wang Yangzhihong, stated that this forum will discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by women in fully participating in economic and social development under the new circumstances, jointly improving women's status and promoting gender equality.
This International Women's Summit lasts for two days, with the theme "Realizing Women's Dreams." The conference is hosted by the Hong Kong Women's Federation Representative Association, with over 1,400 representatives from various sectors in attendance. Guests include participants from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other countries and regions.
