ENG-2008 — Page 256

Women's Commission

The Women's Commission (WoC) was set up in January 2001 to promote the well-being and interests of women in Hong Kong. It identifies women's needs and addresses their concerns in a holistic and systematic manner. It advises the Government on policies concerning women

women and seeks to ensure that their perspectives are taken into account in the formulation of government policies.

The WoC comprises 21 members including the chairperson who is a non-official member. Its quest is 'to enable women in Hong Kong to fully realise their due status, rights and opportunities in all aspects of life'. In line with this goal, the WoC has adopted a three-pronged strategy: providing an enabling environment, empowering women and promoting public education.

On the advice of the WoC, since 2002 the Government has gradually introduced gender mainstreaming in different policy areas to provide an enabling environment. A Gender Mainstreaming Checklist was drawn up to help officers take a systematic approach to assessing women's needs and perspectives when formulating government policy. In addition, gender-related training has been provided to over 3 600 civil servants of different grades since 2001. All bureaux and departments now have their own Gender Focal Points through which matters concerning women's interest and status can be channelled.

With regard to the empowerment of women, the WOC strives to promote development of new service models and good empowerment practices. The introduction in March 2004 of an innovative and flexible learning mode, called the Capacity Building Mileage Programme, was a major step towards helping women develop their full potential.

This programme seeks to enhance women's all-round abilities and promote life skills. It is carried out in collaboration with the Open University of Hong Kong, a radio station and nearly 80 women's groups and NGOs. By year-end, the cumulative number of enrolments exceeded 28 300, a figure that does not include the large audience reached through radio programmes. The programme was first introduced on a trial basis for three years with funding from the Lotteries Fund. Since March 2007 the Government has been providing funds for the programme to continue.

Continuous efforts were made to raise public awareness of women-related issues and reduce gender stereotyping. The WoC attaches great importance to the promotion of gender awareness in school education to reduce gender stereotyping of students in their early stages of life and to make a sustainable impact. In 2008, the WoC organised a debate competition on gender issues for secondary and tertiary students to generate interest, awareness and a more thorough understanding of gender issues among the students.

Rehabilitation Advisory Committee

The Rehabilitation Advisory Committee (RAC) was set up in 1977 to serve as the principal advisory body to the Government on matters pertaining to the well- being of persons with disabilities and the development and implementation of