Employment discrimination against women has once again come under the spotlight after a recent survey showed that 24.7 percent of the respondents complained that employers are reluctant to hire women who have not yet had children. Moreover, many women who already have a job may encounter inappropriate treatment at work.

Women are not inferior to men in terms of professional capabilities. However, many employers prefer men to women because the latter often need to take maternity leave and their work efficiency may be affected during pregnancy. In order to reduce possible costs, many employers choose men over women. Moreover, most of the current legislation on employment in China is general and lacks detailed regulations, which increase the difficulties of law enforcement.

Joint efforts need to be made in order to ensure equal employment opportunities for women. The government should formulate policies to alleviate employers' related costs, such as offering tax cuts and birth subsidies and rewards.

It is also necessary to improve laws and regulations on employment and establish departments on gender equality issues. Efforts should also be made to streamline complaint channels for employment discrimination and tighten punishment for malpractices.

In addition, public services, especially kindergartens and nurseries, should be improved to enable women to join the workforce without any concerns.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Guangzhou Daily on August 27)