Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in Cross-border Education and Employment

by Prof. Fanny M. Cheung & Dr Sally K. W. Lo


Prof. Cheung, Senior Advisor to the HKIAPS, and Dr Lo, a Postdoctoral Fellow of the HKIAPS, have long been concerned about gender issues in society, especially about the challenges faced by women due to gender differences. This research outlines the concern over sex discrimination and sexual harassment in cross-border education and employment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and serves as a reference for policymakers and organizations in formulating gender equality and anti-sexual harassment policies.

The concept of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was proposed by the Chinese government in 2015. After years of planning, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China officially launched the “Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” in 2019. The Hong Kong government also launched a series of policies to cooperate with and facilitate the development plan. Since then, a number of overseas and cross-border assignments and academic exchanges have taken place.

A safe and comfortable work environment is essential to recruiting and retaining talent. Talent management is part of the fundamental infrastructure forming the backbone of the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Prof. Cheung and Dr Lo pointed out that from the policymaking and managerial standpoints, cases of sexual harassment pose a challenge to governments, academic institutions, and multinational/multi-regional companies sending staff or students to other locations for business and exchanges. The human costs of sexual discrimination and gender-based violence affect the institutions as well as the victims. With the rise of people-to-people connections in the Belt and Road Initiative, the potential risk of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in regional and international contexts should be recognized.

Prof. Cheung and Dr Lo used a multi-method approach to collect data, including conducting a territory-wide telephone survey with over 1,000 respondents, ten in-depth interviews with students and employers, and a desktop survey on corporate policies on gender equality and anti-sexual harassment. Through the data, they uncovered five major issues:

    ●  The involvement of various stakeholders
    ●  Incomplete and imprecise corporate policies and mechanisms
    ●  Employees’ social networks
    ●  The collective atmosphere in the company
    ●  The cross-cultural confidence of the employee

These issues are all relevant to the topic of sexual harassment and gender norms in the Greater Bay Area. It shows that the effectiveness of legal and administrative mechanisms in protecting against sexual harassment is limited in cross-border education and employment. Also, cultural variations lead to different perceptions of gender equality and hierarchical power structures, and will influence an individual’s proclivity towards and tolerance of sexually hostile behaviours. Hence, it is essential for organizations to put in place anti-sexual harassment policies since such policies determine the effectiveness of how sexual harassment cases are handled.

Drawing on the research findings, Prof. Cheung and Dr Lo put forward policy and practice recommendations, including on establishing anti-sexual harassment policies for organizations in the Greater Bay Area, providing staff training on gender equality, coordinating and handling cases of sexual harassment cross-organizationally, adding anti-sexual harassment policies to official mechanisms, and conducting studies on the climate in organizations and inviting evaluations from experts. These policy and practice recommendations can help students, employers, and employees to better address and prevent cases of sex discrimination and sexual harassment.

In conclusion, this research addressed the issue of sex discrimination and sexual harassment in cross-border education and employment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and provides policy and practice recommendations for policymakers and organizations on formulating gender equality and anti-sexual harassment policies. This research also enhances knowledge on the attitudes and difficulties of students, employers, and employees when faced with instances of gender inequality and sexual harassment in cross-border study and employment. ■

Full report: