City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) nominated two female students to participate in the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW68) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. They presented at the discussion sessions, advocating for women’s empowerment. This global platform provided them with an invaluable opportunity and showcased CityUHK’s unwavering dedication to promoting gender equality.

UN CSW68 took place from 11 to 22 March under the priority theme “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”.

Nicola Wong Yim-kiu, a Year 4 student majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and Elina Li Ching-hin, a Year 4 student majoring in Public Policy and Politics and currently on a Joint Bachelor’s Degree Programme at Columbia University, represented CityUHK as part of the delegation from the Hong Kong Federation of Women (HKFW) at UN CSW68.

During her sharing session, Nicola pointed out that the lack of affordable, high-quality childcare services is a significant challenge faced by working mothers in Hong Kong. To address this issue, she proposed the establishment of a collaborative network connecting working mothers with experienced housewives. Offering housewives compensated caregiving roles would enable working mothers to pursue their careers full-time.

“Throughout our journey, we had the privilege of attending diverse official events, as well as parallel events held by organisations from different countries,” said Nicola. “The encounters and discussions on women empowerment were truly enlightening. I’m grateful for the invaluable help and support provided by CityUHK.”

Drawing upon her passion for initiatives related to finance, Elina delivered an engaging speech on the topic ‘Digital and Financial Literacy’ which introduced the efforts made by the Hong Kong SAR government and non-governmental organisations to empower underprivileged women and girls by enhancing financial decision-making skills and broadening their access to technology.

“Engaging with delegations from all regions provided a unique platform to discuss and influence women’s empowerment on a global scale,” she said. “It was a significant milestone event in advancing our collective mission towards gender equality.”

Two other CityUHK students, Sana Bibi, a Year 2 student majoring in English, and Geanna Trisha Lopez Tobar, a Year 4 Bachelor of Laws student, had the honour of delivering a speech at a parallel event hosted by the HKFW on 19 March.

During her speech, Sana shared her perspectives on addressing poverty among ethnic minority women, while Trisha expressed her views on how implementing flexible work arrangements would help encourage greater female participation in the labour force.

The 68th session of the UN CSW68 was held at the UN Headquarters in New York, bringing together government officials, academics and civilian representatives from around the world. The session aimed to address the problems faced by women such as inequality, violence and discrimination, while promoting their political, economic and social rights.