Sex Discrimination

II. Sex Discrimination

Discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, pregnancy and sexual harassment are prohibited under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance ("SDO"). The law applies to both females ( section 5 of the SDO) and males ( section 6 of the SDO) and covers the following eight fields:

• employment;
• education;
• provision of goods, services or facilities;
• disposal or management of premises;
• eligibility to vote for and to be elected or appointed to advisory bodies;
• participation in clubs;
• activities of the Government;
• practising as barristers (any offer of pupillage and training provided to barristers).

Although the provisions of the SDO also apply to the Government, some areas are exempt from the law. These include:

• acts performed under any immigration legislation;
• entry into and departure from Hong Kong;
• acts done for the purpose of complying with the requirements of other existing statutory provisions (e.g. different physical requirements between male and female police officers, and other exceptions listed in schedule 5 of the SDO).

If you are being discriminated against because of your sex, marital status or pregnancy, you may find the above section useful. This section also covers sexual harassment.