Professor Dorothy’s research adopts interdisciplinary perspectives, drawing from nursing, sociology, and social work, to enhance cancer prevention awareness and practices among South Asian women in Hong Kong. In her seminar, she creatively examined both the limitations and potential of cultural factors in cancer prevention. These include challenges in translating English-centered medical terminology into South Asian languages, and the tendency for South Asian women to participate in local festivals rather than attend health inquiries during certain periods. She also highlighted the gender role and ethical responsibility of caregiving as a motivating factor in cancer prevention, expressed in sentiments such as, “only when I am healthy can I better care for my family and children.” In my view, her insights hold significant promise for cross-generational comparisons, particularly in understanding how Asian young women construct their health actions within the framework of mainstream feminist thoughts that emphasize independence.

Professor Laurie’s research centers on alleviating the psychological stress of sexual minority individuals and combating workplace discrimination by promoting allyship for and with LGBT employees and leaders. In the Q&A session, in response to a question about why this research has struggled to continue, Laurie pointed out several concerns she has faced, such as the marginalization of sexual minority studies, the invisibility of LGBTQ+ communities and individuals in Asian contexts, and the limited availability of relevant research frameworks. She further expressed her expectation to resume this work, especially after obtaining the qualifications for independent research. The vivid research experience not only demonstrates her contribution to promoting gender diversity awareness and improving the welfare of sexual minorities in the workplace, but also reflects on the marginalized position of feminist and queer scholars within mainstream academia. It highlights the importance of achieving academic independence and seeking supportive networks when conducting minority-focused research.

Written by: LE, Ming

Diversity has gradually become a global consensus, but the real question is: What can we do to create a more inclusive world? This seminar featured two studies that provided insights into how allyships can reduce inequalities faced by minority groups with overlapping and marginalized identities.
The first presentation focused on the health inequalities faced by South Asian women in Hong Kong. Through a decade of community-engaged research, Prof. Chan revealed significant barriers to health services such as cervical and breast cancer screening. Beyond language barriers and limited health knowledge, many barriers are deeply rooted in cultural and social context, including modesty, gender roles within the family, and the taboo of talking about diseases of the female private parts. Several effective allyships, including linguistically appropriate decision aids and motivational interviewing, were also highlighted. These interventions empowered women by providing culturally sensitive information, interpreter support and client-centred communication, which, in turn, improved women’s confidence and knowledge about screening and vaccination. The findings demonstrate how allies such as healthcare workers and researchers can play a vital role in enhancing health equity for ethnic minority women.
In the second presentation, Prof. Kwan discussed the challenges faced by LGBT employees, who frequently experience discrimination, harassment, and psychological distress, leading to higher risks of depression and anxiety. The research identified that workplace allies are crucial for fostering an inclusive climate. Effective allyships are built on three components, which are Knowledge (understanding LGBT identities and issues), Empathy (building authentic connections and practicing self-reflection), and Action (advocating for inclusive policies and amplifying marginalized voices). Furthermore, the presentation also proposed a stage-based model to help organizations build a supportive environment through education, mediation training, and ally programs.
Overall, the seminar illustrated that allyships are more than just symbolic support, but a commitment to listening, learning, and taking concrete steps to shatter barriers. Whether in healthcare or in workplace, strong allyships empower marginalized communities and help create a more equal society.

Written by: LIU, Minjun (Amy) 

This speech mainly covers the work of Professor Dorothy Chan in promoting minority group health and Professor Ho Long Kwan’s research on the LGBT workplace environment.

Professor Chan’s long-term research aims to improve cancer prevention for South Asian women (covering Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, etc.) in Hong Kong. She mainly mentioned three studies: cervical cancer screening, HPV vaccination and breast cancer screening. Her studies identified key barriers these women face, including cultural beliefs, language issues, and limited health knowledge and so on. To address these, she developed practical solutions like linguistically adapted decision aids for cervical screening, such as develop multilingual (Urdu, Nepali, English, etc.) and culturally adapted health popularization materials (such as graphic booklets, short videos), and motivational interviews for HPV vaccination. These methods effectively increased awareness and the use of preventive services. I really like a sentence she said: After identifying the problem, what matters is how to help these women. Looking ahead, Professor Chan discussed the future direction of her work in the end. She aims to explore innovative methods like HPV self-sampling and advocate for extending HPV vaccination to boys as well as girls. However, she also pointed out that this broader objective currently faces a challenge, as the government’s vaccination strategy remains focused primarily on girls.

Professor Ho’s research shows that many LGBT employees experience workplace discrimination and harassment, which often leads them to conceal their identities. This unwelcoming environment contributes to increased psychological stress, including anxiety and depression. In order to solve this problem, the concept of workplace allies has been introduced. These are non-LGBT colleagues who actively promote equality by providing support, speaking out against injustice, and advocating for inclusive policies. Research shows that such allies is strongly associated with a more positive work environment, which directly leads to better mental health, higher job satisfaction, and improved overall well-being for LGBT employees.

Written by: WANG, Zixuan

在本次的課程中，兩位教授Dorothy CHAN和Ho Long Kwan分別為我們分享了她們為爭取少數群體更好的權益和生活所做出的努力。
教授Dorothy CHAN作為動機訪談的從業者，分享了如何向香港，包括印度人，巴基斯坦人，尼泊爾人在內的南亞裔少數群體女性普及宮頸癌的相關知識，並增加這些女性的HPV疫苗接種率。為了在南亞少數群體中普及提前預防宮頸癌，Dorothy CHAN教授與其夥伴展開了一項問卷調查，在招聘調查對象的時候，她們解決了與受訪物件語言不通的問題，通過尋找該類女性的聚集地，尋找合適的受訪物件，同時在南亞女性中，兼顧她們帶孩子的時間的設計更容易使她們加入到工作中。該研究為下一項研究提供了線索和設計經驗，缺乏足夠的健康知識以及獲取癌症篩查服務的管道會影響該群體篩查服務的使用。因此，教授Dorothy CHAN設計了普及相關內容的小冊子並在少數族裔學校普及HPV接種，並以此實驗是否能夠提高適齡少數女性的接種率。知識、意識、接種費用、宗教文化均會影響南亞家庭對少女接種HPV疫苗的低意願度。信任研究機構，繼續瞭解知識的意願在改變其態度的過程中非常重要，在該過程中，教授及其夥伴使用了動機訪談，受訪家庭中的女性成員可以自由地向訪談者提問，知道她們想知道的，這使是否接種HPV的瞭解和決定自主權回歸到了女性本身。而在乳腺癌篩查普及的研究中，對於只有擁有健康的身體，我才能更好地履行我照顧家庭的職責的觀念普及則起到了很大的作用。
教授Ho Long Kwan 則分享了LGBTQ群體在職場中遇到的困境，以及她為改善職場環境使其更支持LGBTQ群體所做出的努力。Ho long Kwan教授認為影響LGBTQ群體在一個環境中是否出櫃的因素取決於他們在環境中是否感覺到了足夠的安全、包容和支持。然而，她向我們提供了相關資料，在全球範圍內，LGBTQ群體仍然受到歧視，六分之一的LGBTQ群體表示在工作中受到過不平等待遇，同時出櫃的群體比起被出櫃的群體被開除的概率要高出5倍。工作環境中的排擠，不公平與該群體更高的心理疾病概率呈顯著正相關。因此，為了改善職場中的歧視現象所造成的心理問題，Ho long Kwan教授指出了工作環境中的支持的重要性，並將友誼，知識，同理心和行動作為促進環境中支持LGBTQ盟友關係的重要緯度，而行動包括公開反對歧視，宣導包容性政策和放大邊緣化聲音，支持對象的類型也同樣重要，如其在公司中是否擁有權力。團隊還提出了有關於LGBTQ工作場所的四種氣候，方便與團隊合作的中小企業評估環境中的歧視程度，並根據改善歧視措施制定相應的計畫來建立一個支援網路。

Written by: DING, Yifan