Activists lament workplace discrimination against women in China
Female graduates say employers favour male applicants or impose discriminatory conditions
Zhu Xixi, an economics graduate from Wuhan, Hubei, had to promise not to get married for five years when she started work at a local bank in July.
"My supervisors kept telling me how dedicated many veteran female colleagues were at work, delaying starting a family or even a relationship," Zhu said, still bitter about the pressure she was placed under.
"I had no choice but to make such a promise and to lie about having a boyfriend at the time because I wanted the job."
Zhu said gender inequality in the job market had haunted her since she began looking for a job early last year. Before accepting the bank job, she missed out on a job as a student counsellor at a Wuhan university, later learning that the job had been reserved for male applicants.
Zheng Churan, a women's rights activist in Guangzhou, said many female graduates had complained to her about the many application letters they sent out and the few responses they received, while many less-qualified male classmates easily found jobs.
She said the lack of enforcement of gender equality regulations was largely to blame for widespread discrimination on the mainland.