Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong: Assessing Current Working Conditions and Avenues for Integration

Diversity management is increasingly important as economies globalize, and workforce compositions diversify. However, with the diversification of workforce comes the necessity to best manage this phenomenon such that minority contributions are valued and organizational production increases. This study aims to empirically test Olsen and Martins’s proposed theoretical framework on diversity management, using a small sample of ethnic minority and ethnic Chinese workers in Hong Kong. Specifically, this study looks at whether differences in working conditions exist between minorities and Chinese, and whether the supervisor’s role – specifically with provision of family-friendly policies (FFPs) – helps with assimilation and integration of minorities into the workforce by reducing work/family conflict. The study finds that ethnic minorities work longer hours and have less access to FFPs, but are more content with work-life balance, which may not be related to FFPs. In addition, the role of the supervisor is important in this process, but not necessarily by the pathway of providing FFPs. The findings propose that more supervisor sensitivity training should be implemented to understand the diverse needs of ethnic minorities, and a gradual normalization of FFPs should eventually be implemented.