A new programme to help women reach their potential will be launched by the Women's Commission.

The Capacity Building Mileage Programme will help enhance the all-round ability of women as individuals, and will launch on March 8. The commission will announce details of the programme later.

It said a recent survey found that gender stereotyping is still evident in Hong Kong, particularly in families and academic settings. It also found that many local women are interested in capacity building.

In the survey, 14% of respondents considered the issue of gender stereotyping 'very/quite serious' and about 35% considered it of average seriousness.

While very few (5%) of the respondents have heard of gender mainstreaming before, the majority (over 80%) considered it 'very/quite necessary' after they were given an explanation on the concept.

About 15% felt women 'probably/definitely' have not realised their potential due to factors like sex discrimination and childcare.

Among the females of this group, nearly 30% of them had taken the initiative to enhance their own ability. 

Close to 60% had furthered their study and attended training courses, while over 30% spent more time reading.

The executive summary of the survey findings can be downloaded from the commission's website.