Men feel they are less included in society than women, according to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Christian Service. The group surveyed 1,026 people between May and June to gather their views on eight attributes affecting their sense of inclusiveness. These areas are employment, recreational facilities, housing, family life, social connections, education, healthcare and culture. The overall inclusion score was about 70 out of 100, which the group views as "average". But men scored lower than women in every aspect. A single father surnamed Wong said gender stereotypes have made parenting of his seven-year-old daughter difficult. "I have never seen any father help with changing a baby's diaper in the shopping mall’s baby care room. To avoid embarrassment, I would knock on the door to 'seek approval' from the mothers inside," Wong said. He added that he sometimes feels he is treated unkindly, saying he has overheard people talk about whether he might be a kidnapper when he holds his daughter's hand when they are out. Wilson Yung from the Hong Kong Christian Service called on society to be more accepting and to appreciate men's decisions over their family roles. "We analysed that maybe due to Chinese culture, which mainly sees a man taking the role of family income [earners], and childcare will rely on women. In the current situation the society is not too accepting for men to be child caregivers," he said. The survey also found that interviewees considered education to be the least inclusive area. The group said while the government has recently invested a lot resources in special needs students, there's a need for more tailored support, stressing that the current approach is too generic.
