Can Women Have it All? Examining the Work-Family Conflict Among Hong Kong Working Mothers

Abstract

Balancing the demands of paid work and motherhood is one of the most persistent gender equity challenges of the 21st century, and Hong Kong is no exception. Although Hong Kong women’s labor force participation rate has been increasing, they continue to face lower participation rates than men due to child rearing responsibilities. Given Hong Kong’s aging population and low fertility rate, understanding how women navigate the dual demands of work and motherhood is a critical public policy issue. This thesis examines how working mothers in Hong Kong experience the work-family conflict, and the strategies they employ to balance their dual responsibilities. Building on Caitlyn Collins’ book Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving, and through conducting in-depth interviews with 26 Hong Kong working women, I systematically explore the ways in which public policy can support women’s ability to balance these competing demands. My findings reveal that class plays a significant role in shaping women’s strategies–high income women rely on workplace flexibility and domestic workers, while lower-middle class women, lacking such support structures, are often forced into career breaks or part-time work. Hong Kong working women’s reliance on domestic workers as a childcare solution reinforces traditional gender norms and limits the development of child care instructure, leaving middle and lower income women with few alternatives. To address these challenges, I believe there needs to be a social, cultural and political reconfiguration of traditional gendered norms and distribution of labor within the household. I propose inclusive workplace policies, stronger protections for domestic workers and gender attitude reforms in order to make progress in achieving these ends. By tackling these structural barriers, Hong Kong can better support their working mothers in succeeding in both their personal and professional responsibilities and work towards a more equitable model of work-family balance.