Living Smart

IV PUBLIC POLICY & SOCIAL SCIENCE 126 127 than his wife” – a decrease from 40 percent in 1997 to 28 percent in 2013. Governments can also influence gender norms by implementing more gender-equal policies. My research finds that reforms starting in the 1950s in China that reduced gender inequality in education and the labor market, and increased women’ s autonomy in marriage decisions have changed gender norms. Specifically, they have increased young women’ s willingness to compete. Today, many countries are directly targeting the lack of female representation in high-ranking positions, particularly on corporate boards. Norway has set a quota of 40 percent; the UK aims for one third of top positions in FTSE 350 companies to be filled by women by the end of 2020. And in Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie LAM CHENG Yuet- Ngor has called on corporations to appoint more females as board members. Government-initiated policies can change norms by changing values, beliefs, and preferences. When women are not judged negatively for seizing opportunities and competing against peers for educational and career prizes, when it pays for women to bargain as hard for themselves as they would for others, and when couples celebrate increases in household income, regardless of who earns more, we may start to see a society where the most important positions are filled by the most competent, regardless of gender. Published on March 06, 2019 Let’s clear the fog over Central tolls Prof. LO Hong-Kam Head and Chair Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering H ong Kong is no stranger to traffic congestion and the government has mulled over introducing electronic road pricing (ERP) in Central since the 1980s and public engagement over ERP was completed in 2016, but some vocal stakeholders, mainly private vehicle owners, have stymied such plans for decades. I believe both policymakers and the media have failed the public by centering discussions on how a potential ERP system would impact on private car users when they are the minority in using the transportation system. Only 10 percent of trips in Hong Kong use private cars and the rest rely on public transportation. Let me explain why implementing ERP in Central would bring positive impact to the traveling public. In our field, we call road users who are time sensitive – those who put a high value on time, will be willing to pay a premium