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| Special Reports 專 題 報 導 |Women in Business職 場 女 性Career women have come a long way since the 1980s, but do they really want to be at the top?自 1980 年 代 起 , 事 業 女 性 的 地 位 不 斷 提 高 , 但 她 們 真 的 想 步 步 高 陞 嗎 ?By Anna J H Fang 方 靜 華Many people might say that I am an advocate of womenin senior positions in government and in business;owning their own multi-million dollar enterprise orbeing at the helm of a multi-national, foreign or Hong Kongcompany. But are there barriers to women rising to the topof the corporate ladder? Are women playing on a skewed playingfield in the business world? Or, have we finally smashedthrough the “glass ceiling” in the business world?I recently attended a women’s business event and listenedto the presentation by a woman who is a high ranking seniorexecutive for a U.S. multi-national corporation. Her main goalin life is about continually rising in her career. Her every wakingmoment is spent continually networking to climbthat career ladder to the top.Some may say: “to the top of what?” Perhaps, sheaspires to be the CEO of the company and sit on theboard of directors one day. Her energy is focused onwho she can impress, who she can meet and networkwith, and climbing up that “career ladder” to corporateheaven using whatever executive search person,senior executive, or CEO to attain her dream. Somepeople might say: “bravo for her – so ambitious, sodriven, and working her way to the top.” Othersmight ask: “but doesn’t she have a life outside of theoffice?”She is not alone. There are millions of ambitiouswomen trying to rise through the corporateranks. So that begs the question: why are there sofew women in senior positions in government, universities,services industries, corporations and onboards and advisory groups in Hong Kong?According to recent statistics compiled by theWomen’s Foundation, women comprise 53% of theHong Kong workforce. However:• women make up 19% of the Legislative and DistrictCouncils;• men hold 82% of the seats in the LegislativeCouncil;• 68% of the top-ranked civil servants are men;• in law, women comprise 10% of senior lawyers;• women comprise 17% of the judiciary; and• in the Court of Final Appeal, there are no female judges.In academia, women occupy 14%percent of senior jobs, however, thereare no female presidents or chancellorsin Hong Kong!In business, women comprise35% of senior managerial positions,but just 2% of the CEOs.Women hold just 9% ofboard positions of companieslisted on the HangSeng Index, with34 June 2012 The Bulletin 工 商 月 刊