Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said on Monday that the status of women in the region has been greatly improved. She said the HKSAR government highly values the development of women and strives to create a women-friendly work environment that encourages women to work. 

Lam made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a Women Power Forum held in Hong Kong. 

"Today, nearly half of our public accountants and solicitors are female. Women represent 54 percent of all students enrolled in Hong Kong universities, a long way from 1921 when the University of Hong Kong admitted its first female student," Lam said. 

"The percentage of female students studying in engineering and other traditionally male-dominated disciplines has increased markedly. In the last academic year, for example, more than 50 percent of our medical students were women, up from 37 percent some 20 years ago." 

Managerial positions in Hong Kong have gone from being about 20 percent filled by women to 35 percent over the past two decades. And more than a third of Hong Kong's civil servants at the directorate level are women, a welcome increase from just over 15 percent two decades ago, she added. 

"In terms of policy, we are strengthening our support for families in areas ranging from childcare and elderly support services to ensuring a breastfeeding-friendly workplace and implementing family-friendly employment practices," she said.

In October last year, Lam announced several measures, including extending maternity leave from 10 weeks to 14 weeks.