A Census & Statistics Department survey has found there is room to raise the labour force participation rate of women.
Publishing the results of Thematic Household Survey Report No.56 today, the department said there was still room for releasing the labour potential of women and raising the female labour force participation rate.
The survey found men spent more time on paid work on average per day (4.1 hours) than women (2.8 hours), while women on average spent more time (2.7 hours) on homemaking and home care work, voluntary work and unpaid activities for relatives and friends living apart (0.8 hour).
Of the 637,500 women homemakers, about 38,300 (6.0%) were "definitely/very likely" to take up a full-time or part-time job when there was one, while 70,000 female homemakers (11%) said they might take up a job.
Women homemakers considered "office hours", "salary" and "number of working hours" the three prime factors when considering to take up a job, and the terms "flexible working hours", "job sharing" and "working at home" would raise their interest in taking up a job.
The Labour & Welfare Bureau said the survey findings are consistent with the direction of the Steering Committee on Population Policy in encouraging more women to join the labour force, and the bureau is boosting various support services to create an enabling environment for women to enter the labour market.
The survey findings can also help the Government and the community to understand the situation of women in Hong Kong, and further promote women's due status, rights and opportunities in all aspects of life, it added.
