Leading ladies of Hong Kong's workforce

The issue of equality in the workforce is ongoing. A number of notable studies address the issue every year and inspirational female leaders have taken the headlines with their analysis of the situation.

One very significant hurdle that commentators agree on is maternity leave. When women, who still carry out 2.5 hours more unpaid work a day than men, according to the OECD,[¹] become mothers, they risk falling off the career wagon.

And even those who manage to stay, or get back on, report it’s a bumpy ride juggling family and work responsibilities.

It’s especially ironic because, despite an ongoing labour shortage, Hong Kong companies are ignoring a tremendous talent pool – namely working mothers. According to our research, 79% of Hong Kong survey respondents felt that companies which refuse to hire women returning from maternity leave are missing out on a valuable employee pool.

The survey canvassed the views of over 19,000 business owners and senior managers in 98 countries. Hong Kong lagged behind Mainland China, where 80% of respondents felt that failing to tap the potential of mothers returning to work was a major mistake, and Taiwan, where fully 88% of respondents felt that way.

On the plus side, 74% of Hong Kong respondents reported that they have at least one woman on the board of their company, which is much higher than the global average (65%) and Taiwan (68%), but slightly lower than Mainland China (75%).

Looking at flexibility, 56% of Hong Kong respondents reported that more women are asking to work remotely when they return to the workforce compared to Mainland China (47%), although in Taiwan, the figure was 62%, which was slightly ahead of the global average (60%).

The fact is that, far from returning with an obsolete address book and a rusty memory, working mums bring valuable skills and expertise that are difficult to find in the current market, say 64% of global businesses.

As a result, half of firms globally anticipate they will hire returning mothers in the next two years and 52% go as far as to say that businesses hiring mothers are more likely to be successful than those that do not.[²]

So how can businesses help encourage more women back into the workforce after they have a family? Our respondents around the world reported that flexible hours (85%), working closer to home (56%), and the option to video conference instead of travelling at least some of the time (35%) are among the top strategies to get more mothers back into the workforce.

A third of respondents selected part-time roles with just 16% voting for job-shares, suggesting perhaps that this strategy is seen as more risky for long-term career prospects.

The figures for Hong Kong revealed that SAR respondents felt that the most effective measure to incentivise mothers to rejoin the workforce was the adoption of flexible working hours (90%). This was well ahead of Mainland China (80%) and Taiwan (81%) and the global average (85%).

Fully 49% of respondents believed that offering part-time roles would also be an attractive proposition for returning mothers. Other popular incentives included the use of on-site or nearby crèche facilities (23%) and the flexibility to choose video conferencing over travel (22%).

Some 62% of Hong Kong respondents also believed that option of working at a location closer to home was critical to helping mothers return to the workforce.

Demanding to work remotely when they return to work, could be an indicator both of the increasing popularity of flexibility, and of the will to continue to perform their original duties, just closer to home.

Remote working may also be affecting trends in maternity leave, with 45% of those surveyed saying they see women take less than three months off.

It may be, therefore, that less rigidity is helping women who wish to do so, return to work earlier.

While it is positive that businesses do not hesitate to attribute value to working mothers, they also need to help address those obstacles that make the often elusive work:life balance struggle so difficult.

The increasing take-up of flexible working seems to already be helping bring about these changes with more and more mums asking for it when they return to work.

Whether it’s flexi-hours, the opportunity to work closer to home, or the option to choose video conferencing over business travel, these initiatives are key to helping more women back into employment to the benefit of society as a whole and of the businesses that hire them.