Sexism in the Labor Market of China——A Long Way to Go

Ren+Jie

Abstract：Sexism （gender discrimination） in the labor market is a common phenomenon in China. It is quite evident that the difference in income and occupation between male and female is because of gender problem rather than labor productivity. This course paper aims at investigating and analyzing the sexism in Chinas labor market and proposing some pragmatic recommendations.

Key words：Sexism; Labor market; Inequality; Education equality

1. Introduction

With the development of the society and civilians awareness of the inequality between male and female， sexism， as a long-running tough issue， has sparked a spirited debate among the public. Research has demonstrated that China has ranked 35th on the United Nations Development Programmes Gender Inequality Index （GII） among 142 countries. If not well tackled， this phenomenon will exert undesirable effects on everyones life and even the economic growth of the country. Therefore， this paper mainly talks about the current situation and causes of sexism by analyzing the labor market of China， and summarizes some ways to tackle this issue.

2. Literature Review

Distinguished from the previous review of “Gender Equality and Womens Development in China” which lays more emphasis on womens development in all-round way， or the review of “Sexism in Employment on International Forum” （Ning Lili 2006） that is based on the international background. This paper includes some reviews on those studies and narrows down the topic to the sexism in Chinas labor market. First and foremost， acknowledging the current circumstances on this issue is of great importance. Virtually， there are four types of differences in Chinas labor market about sexism.

2.1 Difference in employment between male and female

According to one of OECD （Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development）s demonstration， it indicates that. In many countries， labor market discrimination， i.e， the unequal treatment of equally productive individuals only because they belong to a specific group--is still a crucial factor that inflates disparities in employment. So it is quite clear that the difference in occupation between male and female is due to gender discrimination rather than labor productivity.

2.2 Difference in income between male and female

One of the Oaxaca analyzed results shows that sexism， along with the difference in individual characteristic， equally constitutes the unequal income between male and female （Zhang Xiaobei， Qi Peng 2010）. There is a consistent policy of the government that calls for equal pay for equal work. Whereas， in reality， women take the lower income than men take whatever their age ranks are.

2.3 Difference in the possibility of being laid off between male and female

The great possibility of being laid off of women has been existed for years. Dating back to the SOE reforms of the 1990s， women were laid off in greater numbers compared to men. Firstly， the textile industry and other light industry were greatly affected by the enterprise reform and economic reform in the 1990s. But these industries were mostly manufactured by women， which resulted in the great layoff of women workers. Second， during the reform period， the enterprises wanted to cut back multiple social functions， so they began to dismiss workers who were doing secondary jobs. It went without saying that the female workers were firstly to be dismissed in that they occupied a high proportion in these secondary jobs. Thirdly， retirement age for women is five years than men. All the above points prove that women are more subject to being unemployed in the labor market.

2.4 Difference in hiring practice between male and female

Sexism in recruitment can be divided into three categories： gender restrictions in positions， sexism in the process of recruitment and age discrimination. For instance， Chinas national civil units， national government departments and state-owned large or medium-sized enterprises dont comply with the national equality employment laws in the process of recruitment. And the age limit for men is more relaxed， usually under 45 years of age. Conversely， for women， the age limit is mostly under the age of 30， or even under 25 （Wu Zhongzhe 2009）.

3. Analysis of the Cause

3.1 The influence of the traditional concept

For one thing， the federal society had advertised the concept that men enjoyed higher status than women for a long time. It is undeniable that many people still hold the opinion that women lack independence and are inferior to men in ability so that they should only focus on family while men on career. For another， as the influence has rooted in peoples mind， women may choose to focus on family voluntarily.

3.2 Enterprises pursuit of profit maximization

To begin with， enterprises have to bear a certain reproduction cost for female workers， which is a direct hiring cost. Whats more， they think that female workers need to take care of family which will affect work efficiency， which can be a long-running indirect cost. Unavoidably， men are the enterprises first choice in recruitment.

3.3 The shortcoming of legal norms

China has established an array of laws and regulations concerning employment equality to protect womens rights. Nevertheless， sexism still exists in the labor market. There are two main shortcomings in legal norms. One is that the legal norms are too principle. Most of the regulations and slogans lack preciseness and specific operation rules. Another is that legal norms are deficient in operability.

4. Recommendations

4.1 Construct an advanced gender culture

The educational institutions are responsible for reconstructing an advanced gender culture. Its well-known that mens status were superior to womens in the old days， however， the anachronistic conception cant hold water anymore. To strike the balance from the very beginning， its imperative that these educational institutions attach more importance to the education of gender equality in the primary school， or even in the kindergarten. Accordingly， this act will give rise to the advanced gender culture which can make a big difference in the future generation.

4.2 Strengthen relevant laws and policies

The legislative branches should not only ensure the equality of education， but also pay attention to the social value of fertility through legislation and socialize the costs of womens fertility （Su Yanming， Zeng Chunyuan 2006）. Nonetheless， our state should continuously intensify its efforts in the formulation， revision and enforcement of relevant regulations to protect the legitimate rights and interests of women in earnest.

4.3 Corporate to relieve the employment pressure

Each group in our society is supposed to make joint efforts to relieve the employment pressure by taking financial measures and implementing the Law Labor Law resolutely as well as take effective ways to increase the job opportunities. As the old saying goes that “Many hands make light work”.

5. Conclusion

From the foregoing， we can make clear that sexism in the labor market can be eliminated little by little as long as we pull together to aspire after the equality fairness and respect of women. Meanwhile， our government should take the responsibility to reconstruct an advanced gender culture， strengthen the related laws and policies. As far as we are concerned， the promotion of gender equality and the overall development of women is not only of great significance for Chinas development， it also exerts a far-reaching influence on the efforts for the advancement of mankind.

To achieve at sexual equality is still a long way to go.

【Works Cited】

[1]Ning Lili. “International Forum on Gender Discrimination in Employment.” Human Rights. 2006，15.5： 38.

[2]Su Yanming， Zheng Chunyuan.“The Current Gender Situation and Analysis of the Causes in the Labor Market in China.” Modern Economy. 2006，5.3：42-43.

[3]Wu Zhongzhe. “Gender inequalities of the Labor Market during Market Transition.” Economic Theory and Policy Research， 2009，2.3： 87-98.

[4]Zhang Xiaobei， Qi Peng. “Differences in Labor Contracts， Gender and Income.” South China. 2010，25.1： 14-15.