Women's Labor Force Participation in Hong Kong: 1991–2011

Abstract

Using Hong Kong population census and by-census data from 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011, this study examined the trends and determinants of women's labor force participation (WLFP) in Hong Kong. It looked at the determinants of WLFP from the perspectives of availability, marketability, market demand, and new household economic theory. The results showed that the labor force participation for married women has been rising over the study period, but their availability to the labor market is still constrained by childrearing responsibilities. This is in spite of the fact that their education levels and the existence of domestic help are factors that ostensibly make it more possible for women to stay in the labor force. It also showed that other family members’ income (e.g., the husband's income) is an important factor for women's participation in the labor force, supporting the idea that the decision to stay in the labor force vs. to stay at home is a joint decision of the family. The study also implies that economic restructuring and the fluctuations in immigrant composition influence WLFP.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the journal editor, Xiaogang Wu, and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on the paper during the revision process. The authors are responsible for any remaining errors.

About the Authors

Yuying Tong, born in mainland China, received her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is currently an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her main research interests include social demography, migration and immigration, family and life course, and children and youth. She published in such mainstream sociology and population journals as American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, Social Science Research, and Demography. Her current on-going research topics include the consequences of parental migration on children, social segmentation of labor migrants and urban residents in China, migration and household dynamics, and family transition in both China and Hong Kong.

Stephen WK Chiu is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His main research interests include development, industrial relations, and public policy.

Notes

We understand that the prime ages might vary for different time periods because of social changes. To test the validity, we have tried other prime age cut-off points including 18–60, 20–60, and 22–60, and the results remain similar across different models.

However, we also note that the variable “year” may also capture other unobserved factors such as accumulation of women's working experience over time and the social culture change toward women's participation in the labor force. Unfortunately, we cannot measure these directly due to data limitation.