The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government pledged Wednesday that it will promote gender mainstreaming, encourage women's participation in public services, and identify and nurture women members for advisory and statutory bodies.

Matthew Cheung, secretary for Labor and Welfare of the HKSAR government, made the remarks when speaking at the 2009 Women's Commission Conference, noting that of the 30 HKSAR Executive Council members, seven are women, including four official members.

The ratio of women civil servants and directorate officers had also been increasing, he said.

There were 1.67 million women in the register of electors for the Legislative Council election last year, representing 49 percent of the total number of registered electors.

The turnout rate of woman electors was 44.5 percent. In addition, 11 of the 60 Legislative Council members are women and the incumbent House Committee Chairperson is a woman. For district bodies, 94 out of 534 members are women, he added.

A balanced ratio of men and women members in advisory and statutory bodies should be maintained to ensure the views and concerns of both genders are considered, he noted.

"We will continue to work closely with the Women's Commission to promote the status of women in Hong Kong with a three-pronged approach, namely the provision of an enabling environment, upgrading women's abilities and public education," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2009)