While more Chinese believe both genders are equal, a recent
national survey by the All-China Women's Federation found women
were still in a "passive and disadvantageous" position in the
workplace.
According to the survey, the employment rate of women aged between
18 and 49 has decreased by more than 16 percentage points compared
to 1990. More than half of all laid-off workers are women.
For working women in cities, their average income is roughly 70 per
cent that of men, representing a disparity of about 7 percentage
points wider than that of a decade ago.
This could be based on the fact far fewer women want to have a
voice in the managerial affairs of their units, even though China
has many more women leaders in every aspect of social life than
ever before, survey analysts said.
According to the survey, only about 42 per cent of women staff are
concerned with the politics of their organizations, in contrast
with more than 58 per cent of men.
"Politics is a men's game and I do not have much interest in that.
What concerns me most is completing well whatever is assigned to me
and getting paid on time," said 31-year-old Ban Lin, an editor with
a national newspaper.
Ban admitted that enjoying a comfortable life appealed more to her
than career ups and downs.
But "not enough positive responses" to her past suggestions is also
a reason for her indifference to organizational affairs, she
said.
"One usual case is when the guy sitting beside me puts forward a
suggestion, our department head at least listens. But when it comes
to me, his look always gives me an impression that he is only
pretending to be listening," Ban said.
"Besides, a woman ready to suggest this or that is not preferred by
colleagues. The ideal female in our office is the one working hard,
smiling a lot, but criticizing little."
Ban's case is far from being unique. The result of the survey
echoes her words with the following figures - only about 16 per
cent of women staff, 7.5 percentage points less than for men, have
ever put forward suggestions.
While most of the men surveyed said their suggestions had been
taken on board, most of the women said their suggestions had only
brought "negative" results.
It
is this attitude towards the ability of women that freezes almost
65 per cent of them in low-ranking positions, said Deng Li from the
federation.
"While gender equality is widely recognized in China, the social
tradition and climate promoting a subordinate female role in
relation to the male role persists," Deng said.
Consequently, the survey found 20 per cent of the men had promotion
opportunities in the past three years, while a little more than 16
per cent of their female counterparts did.
In
addition, fewer women have been protected by proper unemployment
and retirement pensions, which Deng says will prompt the federation
to suggest that the National People's Congress (NPC) - the
country's top legislature - write "safeguarding equality in
employment" into the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and
Interests.
"Because for most Chinese women, working is still a pre-requisite
for independence," she said.
Under the proposed stipulation, the NPC or related government
departments should still produce supporting regulations forbidding
all kinds of discrimination.
"Discrimination against women has become the most severe problem in
the employment market in China, ranging from higher recruitment
requirements for women to scarce promotion opportunities and
humiliating workplace abuse," Deng said.
(China Daily December 16, 2002)