Proceeding of 2025 8th International Conference on Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2025)

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Glass Ceilings and Occupational Devaluation in Hong Kong: A Distribution-Sensitive Analysis of Feminization and Gender Pay

Authors
Zhuanhan Tian1, *
1The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China
*Corresponding author. Email: daturahuang@gmail.com
Corresponding Author
Zhuanhan Tian
Available Online 26 March 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-551-5_130How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Gender Wage Gap; Occupational Feminization; Glass Ceiling
Abstract

This study uses official Hong Kong tabulations to profile gendered pay within six harmonized occupational groups using distribution-sensitive indicators. Female-to-male hourly-wage ratios are computed at the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles, and a gradient (90th minus 10th) summarizes within-occupation divergence. In 2024, average ratios of 0.936 (P10), 0.861 (P50), and 0.821 (P90) yield uniformly negative gradients (mean − 0.115), indicating pervasive glass-ceiling dynamics. Cross-occupation associations show that higher female employment shares coincide with greater internal parity at the median (≈ + 4.6 percentage points per + 10 p.p. share) but lower occupation-wide median pay (≈ − HKD 5.4 per + 10 p.p.), consistent with devaluation. Working-time differences are small and, when accounted for, strengthen the feminization–parity link. Education and age profiles align with cumulative disadvantage, and a shift–share decomposition attributes roughly 83% of the overall hourly gap (~HKD 7.09) to within-occupation differences. Short trends (2021–2024) show modest, uneven convergence with a persistent ceiling. Implications center on reforming progression and valuation, not hours alone.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceeding of 2025 8th International Conference on Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2025)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
26 March 2026
ISBN
978-2-38476-551-5
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-551-5_130How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Zhuanhan Tian
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/26
TI  - Glass Ceilings and Occupational Devaluation in Hong Kong: A Distribution-Sensitive Analysis of Feminization and Gender Pay
BT  - Proceeding of 2025 8th International Conference on Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1207
EP  - 1212
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-551-5_130
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-551-5_130
ID  - Tian2026
ER  -