82 / 210
[
] 80
A
dvancing
S
ocial
I
ntegration
and
I
ntergenerational
S
olidarity
quarter of 2014, with a special focus on addressing the
needs of young families and New Arrival families.
To promote better understanding of matters relating to
the family, the Council has been engaging tertiary insti-
tutions/research organizations to conduct researches and
surveys. Their findings provided useful insights to rele-
vant B/Ds in their formulation of policies and strategies to
support and strengthen the family.
Insights from the 2013 Family Survey
The Council is mindful of the challenges faced by Hong Kong
families. With a view to understanding the current state of
Hong Kong families in a more comprehensive manner, a bien-
nial survey has been conducted on a regular basis since 2011.
It covers a wide range of areas including attitudes on family
core values, work-life balance, parenthood, family functioning
and satisfaction with family life. The 2013 Family Survey
7
has
revealed several key findings:
• most traditional family values
8
are still quite prevalent,
but not strong (13-50 per cent of respondents agreed with
the statements)
• the majority of the respondents are willing to live with their
parents (65 per cent) and support their living (87 per cent)
• a large proportion of respondents agreed that marriage is
a necessary step in life (60 per cent) and childbearing is
important in a marriage (53 per cent)
• more than half of the respondents accepted divorce as
the best solution for a married couple who could not
live together harmoniously provided that they did not
have children (57 per cent)
• the majority of the respondents considered that their
families functioned very well (72 per cent) and they were
satisfied with family life (76 per cent)
• quite a number of parent-respondents (64 per cent) found
the stress of raising their children overwhelming
• nearly half of the respondents (45 per cent) found it
difficult to balance family and work
• the majority of the respondents were satisfied or very
satisfied with their family life (76 per cent).
The findings indicate that families in Hong Kong in general
function quite well and respondents are satisfied with their
family life. However, findings on the stress of raising children
as well as balancing work and family are matters of concern.
In meeting these challenges, the Council will continue
its endeavour to collaborate with various stakeholders
in creating a pro-family environment in the community.
The year 2014 marks the twentieth anniversary of the
International Year of the Family (IYF). The Council, in
collaboration with relevant stakeholders including the
Hong Kong Council of Social Service and the Consortium
of Institutes on Family in the Asia Region, will organize
a range of activities to echo the IYF themes of alleviating
family poverty; ensuring work-family balance; and advanc-
ing social integration and intergenerational solidarity. These
activities will include:
• a series of territory-wide publicity programmes
throughout 2014 to underline the importance of family
• a Family Summit to be held on the International Day
of Families on 15 May 2014 and a regional symposium
in the fourth quarter of 2014 to raise public awareness
on family-related issues as well as promoting
intergenerational solidarity and work-family balance
• production of family education packages to address the
needs of young families and New Arrival families for
release in the third quarter of 2014.
The Family-Friendly Employers Award Scheme has helped to promote work-family balance by encouraging employers to adopt good employee-oriented
management measures and to implement family-friendly employment practices
Image: Family Council of Hong Kong