China's Employment Laws and Their Impact on Women Working in China

Since before and after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Chinese women have been discriminated against. Women’s discrimination in the labor force in China mirrors gender-based labor inequality in the world. Both gender-based factors and incremental disadvantages, such as the “glass ceiling”, pay inequality and non-standard working options (e.g. part-time or temporary work) apply to women working in China, as discussed in this article. This article also provides background information on the history and development of employment discrimination against women in China since Confucius to the present, the impact of domestic and international laws on gender-based employment discrimination in China, the role that culture and tradition play in fostering discrimination against women in society and in the workplace, and proposals for changes that might aid in the elimination of discrimination against women in the workplace in China.