Monday, August 04, 2014
Most women newly arrived in Hong Kong want to work to improve the living standards of their families, but only 30 percent are able to do so because of the lack of child-care services and inflexible jobs.
According a poll of 326 newly arrived married women aged 18 and above by the New Home Association, the University of Hong Kong and RTHK, 83.1 percent want to find jobs but only 27.9 percent are working now.
Of the interviewees, 78.3 percent had been working in the mainland.
HKU social work and social administration department professor Joe Leung Cho-bun said one of the major constraints on these women is the lack of support in child-care services.
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"Usually the working hours are long and the workplaces too far. It is difficult for these mothers to take care of their children," Leung said.
Cheng Qing was an accountant before arriving in Hong Kong in 2007. But as her qualification was not recognized in Hong Kong, she got a job in a herbal tea shop.
She then took up two Putonghua courses and is now a part- time Putonghua teacher in a kindergarten in Sheung Shui.
"If we have sufficient training, we can also contribute to Hong Kong," Cheng said.
KENNETH LAU
