SHOPPING TIME: Female customers from Guangdong Province shop in a Hong Kong mall on October 1, 2011 (CHEN XIAOWEI)

"If I don't have a job, I will have to ask my husband for money. He may look down on me. Even my mother-in-law might think I'm useless and live off others," said Dou.

"Your family status is to a large extent decided by your income," Fang said.

The latter noted that having no income would make her feel insecure. "With a stable salary, I can shop and travel using my own money."

Back in university, Fang felt the importance of being financially independent because at that time, she made enough money to cover her tuition fees and living expenses by working as a tutor and an assistant for a company. Not forced to live off her parents, she was responsible for her own decisions.

"It's the same in my relationship with my husband."

Although Fang's husband earns a higher income, which can support the whole family, and doesn't mind if Fang quits her job, she still insists on working and saving on her own.

She said working has won her respect from her family. When she shares her experience with her husband or parents-in-law, she feels proud.

"They think I am capable of adding value to my family life if I work," Fang explained.

In southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, it has become common for men to listen to their wives before making major financial decisions. According to a survey, 22 percent of women in the city own properties while 33 percent share them with their husbands, both higher than the national average. About 95 percent of women can buy expensive items and give financial support to their parents of their own will.

Zhou Xiaoyan, a professor at Chongqing Normal University, said many men in other parts of China consider it shameful to be afraid of their wives, but Chongqing males don't mind that big family decisions are made by their spouses.

Difficulties

Although women now enjoy higher family and social status for being employed, they are facing difficulties balancing family and work, as the traditional view that women should do housework and take care of the children and the elderly still persists.

Fang said she has tried hard and compromised to balance work and family. She has given up her job at a company in the United States, which promised more opportunity, to return to Jiangsu Province where her husband works.

In order to achieve career success, women also have to work harder.

A Chinese women's rights protection law implemented in 1992 stipulates that women should not be dismissed for getting married, pregnant or taking maternity leave. The country is currently considering implementing a maternity insurance law.

However, discrimination against women in the workplace still exists.

Fang said about 80 percent of those at the decision-making level of companies she has worked with are male. As women are considered emotional and irresolute, often burdened with the responsibility of child-care, company leaders favor men to take up important posts.

If women want to be successful in their careers, they have to make a lot of sacrifices. Fang said she has many female friends who have achieved success, but remain single. She herself hasn't had a baby although she is already 32 in order to better focus on her career.

"It's unfair, but this is reality and there is nothing I can do about it," said Fang.

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