Chinese women continue to face discrimination in the workplace, court says
- Despite small decline last year, number of legal cases involving violation of female workers’ rights in southern city of Guangzhou has been steadily rising
- Expectant and new mothers are most common victims, court report says
The number of court cases involving the infringement of women’s rights at work fell slightly in a major southern Chinese city last year, but discrimination remains a serious concern, a metropolitan newspaper reported.
According to figures from the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court, the city’s judiciary handled 3,682 cases involving women’s rights violations in 2018, down 7 per cent from 3,959 a year earlier, Guangzhou Daily reported on Wednesday.
However, the figure had previously been rising steadily, from 2,724 cases in 2015 to 3,850 in 2016, the report said, adding that it was the first time a court in the city had published such data.
Intermediate court judge Chen Dongmei was quoted as saying that the purpose of making the figures public was to show the city was taking the matter seriously. “We have always strictly abided by the law on cases of labour disputes and actively protected the legal rights of female employees,” she said.
The increase in the number of cases handled was a result of women’s greater awareness of their rights, especially since China relaxed its one-child policy, the court said.