Occupational gender segregation Trends and explanations

This article examines recent research on occupational segregation by gender. It reviews and evaluates statistical approaches to measuring the extent to which women are disproportionately represented in “women’s jobs” and men in “men’s jobs.” By combining the findings of a number of studies, it traces the changes in the extent in occupational segregation from the end of the nineteenth century until 1995, and the forms and extent of gender segregation in occupations cross-nationally. In addition to the trends, this article considers the consequences of segregation to women. Finally, current explanations for occupational segregation are analyzed and assessed by considering the empirical data on occupational segregation.     

Part-time employment in Hong Kong: a gendered phenomenon?

In recent years, part-time employment in Hong Kong has grown considerably. Unlike Western industrialized countries where women play an overwhelming role in this form of employment, in Hong Kong a large proportion (44 per cent) of part-time workers are male. This study addresses the extent, patterns and trends in part-time employment in Hong Kong. In addition, it examines gender differences (such as age pattern, marital status, sectoral and occupational distribution) in this form of employment. Statistical analysis of survey data reveals that certain socio-demographic variables have differential effects on participation in part-time work for men and women. Finally, practical implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Educational presorting and occupational segregation

This article concentrates on the measurement of both occupational and educational segregation between men and women of the Dutch labour force. The majority of studies which have been conducted in this area are rather one-sided, concentrating on occupational segregation only. However, occupational segregation can be split into three components. The first component concerns presorting as a consequence of the different educational choices made by boys and girls. The second component concerns postsorting (given their educational status), as a result of the differing occupational choices and opportunities for promotion between men and women during their careers. If men and women with the same educational background are directed towards different occupations, then postsorting may add to the occupational segregation which was already induced by the earlier educational segregation. This kind of postsorting increases the gap between occupational and educational segregation. The third component, which we refer to as reintegration, is also a kind of postsorting but narrowing the gap between occupational and educational segregation. This occurs when men with a `male type' of education and women with a `female type' of education come together in one occupation. Given that educational segregation of the labour force is fixed in the short term, reintegration is the only effective, but probably difficult affirmative action program to reduce occupational segregation in the short term. More usual programs are ineffective and can even be counterproductive. A more detailed insight into these three components is relevant when choosing the policy instruments needed to achieve equal employment opportunities for men and women. The paper shows that from 1979 until 1993/1994 educational segregation increased, but occupational segregation decreased. Partly, this is explained by increased reintegration, but the main cause of these developments is a clear increase in presorting in education.     

Accident risk,gender, family status and occupational choice in the UK

Many studies show that women are more risk averse than men. In this paper, following DeLeire and Levy [Deleire T. and Levy H. (2004) ‘Worker Sorting and the Risk of Death on the Job’, Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 210–217.] for the US, we use family structure as a proxy for the degree of risk aversion to test the proposition that those with strong aversion to risk will make occupational choices biased towards safer jobs. In line with DeLeire and Levy we find that women are more risk averse than men and those that are single with children are more risk averse than those without. The effect on the degree of gender segregation is somewhat smaller than for the US.     

The sexual division of care in mainland China and Hong Kong

The aim of this paper is to explore the extent to which the sexual division of domestic labour in Hong Kong and mainland China is influenced by traditional Chinese values and contemporary political and economic factors. It discovers that women in these two societies assume far more caring responsibilities than men. This is similar to women in traditional Chinese society. An important reason is that the political and economic conditions in Hong Kong and mainland China favour the reproduction of traditional Chinese values. Hence it can be argued that the unequal division of domestic labour between men and women will continue as long as the political and economic conditions are unfavourable to women. Le but de cet article est d’explorer jusqu’à quel point les valeurs chinoises traditionnelles et les facteurs politiques et économiques contemporains influencent la division sexuelle du travail domestique à Hong Kong et en Chine. Cet article a découvert que, dans ces deux sociétés, les femmes ont beaucoup plus de reponsabilités sociales que les hommes. Ceci est similaire à la société chinoise traditionnelle. Une raison importante est que les conditions politiques et économiques à Hong Kong et en Chine favorisent la reproduction des valeurs chinoises traditionnelles. On peut donc dire que la division inégale du travail domestique entre les hommes et les femmes continuera tant que les conditions politiques et économiques seront désavantageuses pour les femmes.     

Women-friendly HRM good for QWL? The case of Hong Kong based companies

Organizations in Hong Kong were surveyed to gauge how women-friendly they were and how their human resource managers viewed the effect of women-friendly HRM policies and practices on employees' quality of work life. It was found that only about half of the policies mentioned in the questionnaire were practised by less than 10 per cent of the organizations. Principal component analysis conducted showed that organizational women-friendliness was multi-facet in nature. Using these facets - women friendly dimensions (WFDs) - as criteria and controlling for size, the study found that firms with American and European origins were more women-friendly than Hong Kong firms. Furthermore, when American companies were compared to Hong Kong companies, it was on the WFD of career development that the former were significantly higher than the latter. In contrast, when comparing European organizations with Hong Kong organizations, it was the WFD of flexibility on which the two differed most markedly.     

从全国高度看"更紧密经贸关系安排和自由行"

香港回归,任何有利于香港的政策和举措,一定会反馈到内地,内地每前进一步,香港必然会有感应。《内地与香港关于建立更紧密经贸关系的安排》(CEPA)和自由行保障香港继续繁荣,是给香港人民的大礼。《内地与香港关于建立更紧密经贸关系的安排》和自由行推动内地改革开放,促进内地与世界经济融合,也是给内地人民的大礼。随着时光流逝,《内地与香港关于建立更紧密经贸关系的安排》和自由行将进一步释放绚丽的光彩。     

Women of color in the labor market

While the labor force participation rates of women have increased, and women work in a wider range of occupations than they did two decades ago, there remain gaps between the status of women and men, as well as between white women and women of color. Additionally, as the female labor force becomes more diverse, there are also differences among women of color in labor force participation, unemployment, and occupational status. Based on projections regarding the future structure of the labor force, it is likely that even as the status of some women of color improves, many will remain stuck in low-wage service and clerical jobs.     

Antecedents of expatriate/local relationships: pre-knowledge vs socialization tactics

This exploratory paper empirically examines pre-knowledge and socialization tactics used by Swedish expatriate managers and their immediate Hong Kong subordinates in learning how to get along. It was found that the Swedish expatriates had more pre-knowledge about Hong Kong and its culture than their Hong Kong middle managers had about Sweden and the Swedes also used more socialization tactics than their Hong Kong middle managers. However, this was not significantly associated with how quickly Swedish managers were getting along with their immediate subordinates. On the other hand, despite the lesser use of socialization tactics by the Hong Kong middle managers than their Swedish bosses, it had a strong positive association with how quickly they were getting along with their superiors. Pre-knowledge had no such significant association. Practical implications of these findings are discussed in detail.     

Family-friendly policies in the workplace and their effect on work–life conflicts in Hong Kong

As in many other big cities, employees in Hong Kong face competing demands from their work and family and are under a tremendous conflict between work and life. Recently, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has put a lot of effort into promoting family-friendly policies, but the availability and effectiveness of these policies are largely unknown. The social distribution of work–life conflicts across social status and the dimensions of stratification in Hong Kong have already been documented. This paper examines these issues by way of a telephone survey of over 1000 employees in Hong Kong. We argue that certain groups of workers are particularly vulnerable to work–life conflicts, and target interventions must be devised to address their needs. Moreover, we also suggest that a regulatory approach to implementing family-friendly policies must be undertaken once implementation on a voluntary basis has failed, owing to the low availability of family-friendly policies in the Hong Kong workplace. Lastly, we show the effectiveness of three measures – namely flexible work time, a five-day work week and career breaks – in reducing both work–life conflicts and their negative consequences. We argue that more rigorous randomized intervention must be undertaken to provide more conclusive evidence so as to convince employers to implement these policies in their enterprises.     

The relative importance of facial attractiveness and gender in Hong Kong selection decisions

This field experiment found that Hong Kong human resources management specialists were influenced by the attractiveness bias in evaluating short-listed candidates for an entry-level trainee position. Zero order, stepwise and hierarchical regressions showed that perceived attractiveness of the candidates was more related to their work experience and work-related skills than to grade-point average and public examination results. Women candidates were generally preferred over male candidates. Further research is suggested to determine if the influence of attractiveness extends over a wider range of jobs and to measure more precisely the influence of attractiveness in different cultures and for men and women.     

U.S. Pay Equity Legislation: Sheep in Wolves' Clothing

In the last century, women in the United States have made tremendous changes to their labor market behavior. What has not changed very much over this time period is the relative economic status of women compared to men. Another constant has been a high level of job segregation by gender, such that few organizations employ both men and women to do a particular job. These facts have led many scholars to conclude that employers systematically undervalue female-dominated jobs, and that legislative initiatives are needed to rectify this problem. This paper reviews 4 bills that have been introduced in the U.S. Congress. Each of these bills contains loopholes that would allow most employers to maintain their current pay rates. The Congressional initiatives are contrasted with a much more stringent bill that has been introduced in the New York state legislature.     

Performance appraisal and culture: practice and attitudes in Hong Kong and Great Britain

This article compares the practice of and attitudes towards performance appraisal for managerial and professional staff in Hong Kong and Britain, and considers the extent to which actual practice and employee preferences are in alignment. Findings suggest that appraisal may be more widespread in Hong Kong than in Britain. However, British appraisal tends to be more participative and to place greater emphasis on discussing objectives, development and career plans. Hong Kong appraisals appear to be more directive and Hong Kong respondents perceive a higher level of 'negative' appraiser behaviour. In spite of this, Hong Kong respondents show if anything slightly more confidence in the utility of appraisal than do British respondents. They show stronger support for appraisal's use for reward and punishment and less support for the objectives-setting and training and development uses than do the British sample. Hong Kong respondents are more likely than their British counterparts to favour involving a more senior manager in appraisal, and they are less likely to prefer more frequent appraisals. There was little evidence that Hong Kong respondents had a stronger preference for group-based appraisal criteria, although they did show more support than the British sample for the use of personality as a basis for appraisal. Overall, the suggestion is that appraisal has been adopted in Hong Kong organizations but that the practice of appraisal has been adapted to suit the cultural characteristics of the society.     

Juggling Legitimacies: Informal Places for Burials and Worship in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong government's neoliberal approach regarding land development and urbanization affects not only the housing market but also burial places, increasing inequality for both the living and the dead. The urgency of tackling the issue of places for burial is all the more pressing given current demographic changes and an existing backlog of public burial places in inner‐city locations. Against this backdrop, this paper focuses on the cultural practices around burial and worship among the inhabitants of Hong Kong, and on their struggle to maintain these practices. It illustrates various forms and means of legitimacy (e.g. pragmatic, normative and cognitive) being applied by all actors, and shows how the continuing practices around worship and burial lead to the production of informality. The main argument is that socially constructed legitimacy can be gained and lost by various actors in a dynamic negotiation process based on belief systems, rules and norms (following Suchman, 1995). Thus, it should be understood as a strategic mode both within and outside the state. This perspective of legitimacy provides a better understanding of how and by what means resources and power are being negotiated in order to draw lessons from informal dynamics.     

Hong Kong's entrepreneurship: behaviours and determinants

It is widely known that Hong Kong's economic success is to a large extent attributed to its dynamic entrepreneurs. However, economic studies on Hong Kong's style of entrepreneurship are few. This paper attempts to throw light on this issue. It argues that Hong Kong is an entrepreneurial society. A unique feature of Hong Kong's style of entrepreneurship lies in its ability to conduct ordinary, rather than extraordinary, discovery. Through the use of guerrilla business strategy, imitation and regional arbitrageurship, entrepreneurial firms in Hong Kong are able to exploit narrow profit margins and to survive global competition. Moreover, the cultural, economic and political environments of Hong Kong are found to be favourable in incubating adaptive entrepreneurship. This paper concludes that, although Hong Kong's style of entrepreneurship emerges out of its unique environments, Hong Kong's experience can be useful to other developing economies. The critical issue is whether latecomer countries can successfully develop adaptive entrepreneurship compatible with their backgrounds so as to exploit international market opportunities.     

论深港物流一体化

在经济全球化和信息化的推动下，现代物流业已经发展成为当今世界经济发展的重要基础产业。近年来。深港两地经济合作进程进一步加快，物流产业是深圳和香港两地的支柱产业,实现深港两地物流一体化将有利于提升两地物流产业的竞争力以及两地的经济合作进程。但是，深圳与香港两地在物流合作的同时也存在一些不足之处。还需两地加强合作和管理，促进深港物流一体化进程。     

Strategic factors influencing international human resource management practices: an empirical study of Australian multinational corporations

This paper presents a diachronic account of the careers of two generations of Chinese in Hong Kong and two generations of Chinese in Britain. It focuses on both the intra-generational and inter-generational similarities and diversities in career development of these Chinese. Using Raider and Burt's (1996) distinction between voluntary and involuntary boundaryless careers as a framework, this study concludes that the ‘firstgeneration Chinese’ in both Hong Kong and Britain were initially involuntarily bounded in their careers, but, over time, the ‘first-generation Chinese’ in Britain later chose to be voluntarily bounded to their careers, while the ‘first-generation Chinese’ in Hong Kong were pushed by macro-economic factors to experience involuntary boundarylessness. In contrast, the ‘second-generation Chinese’ in Britain are rather ambiguously placed, in a position voluntarily to choose bounded or boundaryless careers, while the ‘secondgeneration Chinese’ in Hong Kong are more firmly ensconced in a situation of pursuing voluntary boundaryless careers.     

De-industrialization and the ‘disappeared workers’

Hong Kong has undergone a remarkable process of a complete cycle of industrialization and de-industrialization within the lifetime of one generation of workers. This paper explores the impact of this swift economic progress and examines the adjustment problems and difficulties experienced by workers displaced from their jobs in a rapidly de-industrializing society. It addresses the issue of what has become of these displaced workers. It was found that, while a proportion of the displaced workers were able to find alternative employment in the expanding services industries, many became discouraged workers who joined the ranks of the hidden unemployed, partly as a result of discrimination which compounded their problem and further hindered their search for work and employment. The data show that many of these people eventually (in)voluntarily withdrew completely from the labour market. Suggestions have been made regarding the role which can be played by the government in particular to ease the transition of displaced workers into other employment positions.     

International stock exchange listing and the reduction of political risk

The impending 1997 assimilation into the People's Republic of China made the 1980s a challenging period for Hong Kong, one in which Kong Kong-based companies relocated their corporate domiciles to other countries as political insurance. International listing, however, is another way for companies to reduce political risk. This paper examines the post-1985 effects of Hong Kong-based company stocks being quoted on London's International Stock Exchange. We document that there is no price effect for these companies after the first trading day and a significant increase in the average trading volume surrounding the event day. This may be attributed to the London market makers who build up their stakes before the listing and who unwind their positions in the Hong Kong market after the event day. We also find that there is, on average, a decrease in systematic risk of these companies after being traded on the London market. Furthermore, the evidence shows that there is an increase in systematic risk for companies that are not listed in London after 4 June 1989, however, not for those London-listed Hong Kong companies. The results constitute evidence to support the inference that there is a reduction of local political risk for internationally listed companies.     

香港全人教育对内地高校学生管理工作的特色化启示

香港地区高校"全人发展"的教育,注重学生的人格发展是否完善,把人的全面发展、潜能的充分发挥作为教育的追求目标,强调尊重学生的主体地位,取得了令世界瞩目的成绩。本文介绍了香港高校学生事务工作机构的设置、工作内容及特点等,并提出了对内地高校学生工作特色化改革和发展的启示,具有一定的参考和借鉴作用。