In reporting on a survey by Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association to mark International Women's Day on March 8, a story in the South China Morning Post came with a rather unflattering headline: "Money - that's what Hong Kong women want".

The survey, which polled nearly 1,500 women aged 15 or above in February, showed that the majority of the respondents rated money above love and marriage as the most important factor to their well-being. In last year's survey, money was ranked second to love.

This change in attitude is understandable in the context of a deteriorating economic outlook which is worrisome to everyone, not just women, in Hong Kong. But in this overly male-dominated society, women are usually hit hardest by an economic recession which can lead to falling wages and rising unemployment.

Even in the best of times, the average Hong Kong women, especially those in the middle class, face much more pressure than their counterparts in most other developed economies. During the economic boom in the past several years, many wives had to struggle to maintain their families' living standard while their husbands' incomes were falling behind rising costs that were relentlessly pushed up by escalating property prices.

Homeowners were not faring any better. Studies have shown that the majority of households in the middle to lower-middle class spent more than 50 percent of their monthly incomes on making mortgage repayments.

In addition to concerns about money matters, Hong Kong women are finding it increasingly difficult to properly raise their children in a contentious society torn by seemingly unsolvable social and economic differences. Exposed to the full scale of social tension through the Internet, many children are asking questions that their equally confused mothers usually do not have the answers to.

At times like these, money can offer a greater sense of security than anything else. It is not a matter of greed. It is more a matter of motherly instinct.

(HK Edition 03/10/2016 page8)