Laws on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests [ENG/CHI] By Qian Zhou, Associate Managing Editor, Dezan Shira & Associates

Although the famous phrase, “Chinese women hold up half of the sky”, was invented when China was still an agricultural society, it still rings true today. In 2020, the number of women employed in urban areas reached 67.8 million, accounting for 43.5% (according to the National Bureau of Statistics) of mainland China’s total labour force. In big cities, this figure could go even higher.

Nevertheless, women in the workplace still face more challenges than their male coworkers, ranging from gender discrimination in recruitment and promotion, to non-supportive policies during pregnancy and childcare, to higher risks of being the victims of sexual harassment. Considering the significance of women’s contribution to the Chinese economy and society, such improper treatment is not only detrimental to a company’s talent strategy, but also has negative implications on the success and growth of organisations in China.

Discrimination in recruitment

Despite the widespread condemnation of sexism, gender discrimination in the recruitment process is not rare in mainland China. According to statistics provided by Zhaopin.com, one of the most popular job sites in the country, 29.6% of the women surveyed experienced some sort of gender discrimination in their job-seeking processes. In order to reduce gender bias in hiring, companies are advised to implement concrete measures. Otherwise they may not only suffer the loss of talent but are also at a higher risk of being challenged by labour authorities.

The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women (the Women Protection Law) stipulates that organisations cannot refuse to employ women by the reason of gender, raise the employment expectations for women except for special types of work, or advertise that the position is unsuitable for women.

The Notice on Further Regulating Recruitment Activities and Promoting Equal Employment for Women further clarifies a range of gender discrimination behaviours which are prohibited in the recruitment process:

• Restricting certain gender (except for the job scopes prohibited to be assigned to female employees) or giving priority to certain gender in the recruitment announcement

• Refusing to employ female candidates on the grounds of gender;

• Inquiring female job seekers about their marriage and childbirth status;

• Listing pregnancy test as one of the items for physical examination of new employees;

• Imposing restrictions on childbirth as a condition of employment; and

• Increasing the recruitment standards for women candidates in a differentiated manner.

Employers that release recruitment information containing contents of gender discrimination could be ordered to make rectifications in accordance with the law, and could be subject to fines ranging from RMB 10,000 to 50,000 for their failure to rectify the improper behaviours. Also, the administrative punishment imposed on any employer due to the release of recruitment information containing contents of gender discrimination could be included in the human resources market integrity record – the “name and shame” list of enterprises managed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS).

Equal pay for equal work

Equal pay for equal work is one of the most important principles in human resources management since remuneration is a key factor impacting motivation and relationships at work. Companies are recommended to make additional efforts to reward their workforce fairly.

Paying female employees equally is not just a legal requirement under the Women Protection Law, but can also contribute to commercial success. For instance, paying female employees on a par with the position standards will cascade a clear and positive message about the business and corporate brand. This practice could also boost productivity by attracting the best employees and reducing turnover. Furthermore, it can enhance company reputation, prevent damaged employee relations, and avoid low staff morale.

Gender equality in performance review and promotion

Article 25 of the Women Protection Law stipulates that women and men should be treated equitably in such aspects as promotion, evaluation, and determination of professional and technological titles, and discrimination against women shall not be allowed. In practice, companies may take more steps to ensure the principle of equality in hiring than in the performance review process, as the former has comparatively more concrete standards to evaluate and follow. With this in mind, it is suggested that organisations provide corresponding training to their senior management to level the playing field for male and female employees, which can help reduce talent turnover and increase efficiency, as well as elevate the company’s public image.

Special protection for female employees

Gender equality does not mean that males and females must always be treated identically and warrant the same treatment. Given the existence of biological sex differences, it is reasonable for both genders to have different legal rights in some instances and for female employees to receive special protection, especially in the biologically vulnerable periods, including menstruation, pregnancy, and breast-feeding (one year counted from the date of childbirth). Under Chinese law, the Special Provisions on Labor Protection for Female Employees set out detailed rules on work arrangements for women employees. For example, the scope of incompatible labour work for female employees prohibits work involving carrying weights that exceed 20 kg six times or more per hour, or intermittently carrying weights that exceed 25 kg. The scope of incompatible labour work for female employees during pregnancy protects women from working at premises where the density of toxic substances such as lead and mercury compounds is present.

Furthermore, female employees in China are granted extra leave related to pregnancy and childcaring, including prenatal check-up leave, maternity leave, breast-feeding leave, and childcare leave.

It is also illegal to terminate a pregnant employee during her pregnancy, maternity leave, or breastfeeding period unless the termination is requested by the employee, mutually agreed, or due to the inappropriate behaviours specified in the Labor Contract Law that constitute lawful grounds for immediate termination. If an employee gets pregnant during the term of her fixed-term contract, and the contract ends during her pregnancy, the contract shall be automatically extended (through a renewed end date or a second contract) until the end of the breast-feeding period.

Preventing sexual harassment

Chinese law explicitly prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace, with Article 1010 of the Civil Code stipulating that the victim has the right to request the perpetrators to bear civil liability for acts of sexual harassment in the forms of verbal remarks, written language, images, physical behaviours or otherwise against the will of another person, requiring employers to take reasonable measures in preventing sexual harassment and providing proper complaint channels. However, it is widely believed that the legislation and regulation pertaining to sexual harassment tend to be broad-based, preventive, and provide little detail on what exactly amounts to sexual harassment.

Considering the potentially negative impact of sexual harassment cases on businesses, in the absence of a clear and uniform legal protocol for handling sexual harassment cases, employers are recommended to clearly define what types of behaviours are inappropriate and establish a strict anti-harassment code and culture for their organisations. Specifically, employers could adopt the below anti-harassment measures:

• Define what types of behaviours are inappropriate, write them into the company’s employee handbook, and stipulate that such behaviours will result in investigations and special punishments;

• Provide effective complaint channels for victims to report an instance of sexual harassment and develop protocols to ensure such complaints will be managed properly;

• Offer workplace education and training to prevent sexual harassment;

• Clearly communicate the anti-harassment code of the company to all employees.

Complaint channels and management protocols can help employers minimise risks and losses should sexual harassment occur in their organisations. Plaintiffs should be given multiple options for reporting so that they can choose the option that they feel the most comfortable with. Depending on the company size and structure, the sexual harassment case can be reported to the HR function, the relevant manager or supervisor, the owner or executive, or via a dedicated sexual harassment complaint system. For foreign companies or small branch offices, employees should be given the option to report directly to the headquarters.

Summary

Laws set the minimum standard for ethical behaviours. A strong and well-developed company framework to address gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace contributes towards boosting office morale, elevating productivity, and, most important of all, the healthy development of the business in the long haul.

[中文版本]

中國與婦女權益保障相關的法律 

撰文：周倩, 副主編，協力管理諮詢有限公司

• 最新的勞動法規進一步禁止在招聘和就業管理過程中歧視婦女。

• 對於僱主而言，制定並落實具體的規則和明確的程序來處理投訴、調查、以及紀律處分在女職工管理中至關重要。

“婦女能撐半邊天”這句話雖然在中國還是農業社會的時候便存在了，但在今天仍然適用。於2020年，城鎮婦女就業人數高達6780萬人，佔中國大陸勞動力總量的43.5%(國家統計局數據)。在大城市，這個數字可能更高。

然而，職場女性仍然比男性同事面臨更多挑戰，包括招聘和晉升中的性別歧視、懷孕和育兒期間的非支持性政策，以及成為性騷擾受害者的更高風險。考慮到女性對中國經濟和社會的貢獻，這種不恰當的對待不僅不利於公司的人才策略，也會對中國企業的成功和發展產生負面影響。

裁決結果

儘管性別歧視受到廣泛譴責，但在中國大陸的招聘過程中，性別歧視現象並不罕見。據中國大陸最受歡迎的求職網站之一智聯招聘所提供的數據顯示，接受調查的29.6%的女性在求職過程中遭遇過某種形式的性別歧視。我們建議僱主採取具體的措施來減少招聘中的性別歧視，否則他們不僅可能經歷人才流失，而且會面臨被勞動管理部門挑戰的更高風險。

《中華人民共和國婦女權益保障法》（《婦女權益保障法》）規定, 各單位在錄用職工時，除不適合婦女的工種或崗位外，不得以性別為由拒絕錄用婦女或者提高對婦女的錄用標準。

《關於進一步規範招聘活動促進婦女平等就業的通知》進一步明確了招聘過程中所禁止的一系列性別歧視行為。各類用人單位、人力資源服務機構在擬定招聘計劃、發布招聘信息、招用人員過程中不得：

• 限定性別（國家規定的女職工禁忌勞動範圍等情況除外）或性別優先；

• 以性別為由限制婦女求職就業、拒絕錄用婦女；

• 詢問婦女婚育情況；

• 將妊娠測試作為入職體檢項目；

• 將限制生育作為錄用條件；

• 差別化地提高對婦女的錄用標準。

發布含有性別歧視內容的招聘信息的機構將被依法責令改正; 不改正的將被處以1萬元至5萬元的罰款。此外，對於因發布含有性別歧視內容的招聘信息而受到行政處罰的僱主，其可能會被列入人力資源市場誠信記錄，一個人力資源管理部管理的企業黑名單。

裁決結果

同工同酬是人力資源管理中最重要的原則之一，因為薪酬是影響工作動機和人際關係的關鍵因素。我們建議公司更盡力地公平對待員工。

平等支付女性員工工資不僅是《婦女權益保障法》的法律要求，而且也有助於商業成功。例如，給女性員工支付與職位標準相當的工資，對公司和品牌來說都是一個清晰和積極的信號。這種做法還可以通過吸引最優秀的員工和減少流失率來提高生產力。此外，它可以提高公司的聲譽，防止員工關係受損以及避免員工士氣低落。

業績審查和晉升方面的性別平等

《婦女權益保障法》第25條規定，男女在晉升、考核、確定專業技術職稱等方面應受到平等對待，不得歧視婦女。但在實踐中，公司可能會在招聘過程中採取更多的措施來確保平等原則，而不是在業績審查過程中，因為前者有更為具體的評價和操作標準。考慮到這一點，我們建議公司為他們的高級管理人員提供相應的培訓，為男性和女性僱員提供公平的競爭環境，這可以幫助減少人才流失，提升效率，並改善企業的公眾形象。

對女性員工的特殊保護

性別平等並不意味著男性和女性必須總是受到相同的待遇並且要求相同的待遇。由於存在生理上的性別差異，在某些情況下，男性和女性享有不同的法律權利是合理的。女性僱員在生理上較為脆弱的時候，包括月經期、懷孕及哺乳期(自分娩之日起一年), 應該獲得特別保護。根據中國法律，《女職工勞動保護特別規定》對女職工的工作安排作出了詳細規定。例如，每小時負重６次以上、每次負重超過20公斤的作業，或者間斷負重、每次負重超過25公斤的作業被列為女職工禁止從事的勞動之一。女職工在孕期禁止於存在鉛和汞化合物等有毒物質密度的場所工作。

此外，中國的女性員工還可以享有與懷孕和育兒相關的額外假期，包括產前檢查假、產假、哺乳假和育兒假。

在女員工懷孕、休產假或哺乳期間解除勞動合同也是違法的，除非女員工本人要求解除、雙方協議一致解除，或者因該職工存在《勞動合同法》中規定的不當行為而構成單方解除的合法理由。女職工簽訂的固定期限勞動合同在懷孕期間到期，合同自動延長(通過修訂終止日期或簽訂新的勞動合同)至哺乳期結束。

防止性騷擾

中國法律明確禁止在工作場所進行性騷擾，《民法典》第1010條規定，受害人有權就性騷擾行為（具體表現形式有言語、文字、圖片）要求加害人承擔民事責任，並要求僱主必須採取合理措施防止性騷擾，並提供適當的投訴渠道。然而，一般分析認為中國有關性騷擾的立法和條例往往是概括性和預防性的，對構成性騷擾的細節提供得很少。

考慮到性騷擾案件的潛在負面影響, 在沒有一個明確的和統一的法律體系處理性騷擾的情況下, 我們建議僱主在公司規章制度中清晰地定義什麼類型的行為是不恰當的, 並在企業中建立嚴格的反騷擾文化。具體而言，僱主可採取以下反騷擾措施:

• 列明哪些行為是不恰當的，並將其寫入公司的員工手冊，並規定將對這些行為進行調查和特殊處罰。

• 為受害人提供有效的投訴渠道，並製訂協議確保有關投訴得到妥善處理。

• 提供職場防止性騷擾的教育和培訓。

• 向所有員工清楚地傳達公司的防止性騷擾守則。

投訴渠道和投訴管理程序可幫助僱主在機構內發生性騷擾時，將風險和損失減至最低。企業應該給原告提供多種舉報選項，讓他們選擇最適合自己的選項。根據企業的規模和結構，性騷擾受害人可以向人力資源部門、相關經理或主管、公司老闆或高管報告，也可以通過專門的性騷擾投訴系統報告。至於外國公司或小型分支機構，員工應該有直接向總部匯報的權利。

總結

法律是道德的最低標準。一個強大和完善的公司框架有利於解決工作場所的性別歧視和性騷擾問題，有助於提高辦公室士氣，提升生產力，而最重要的是，有助於業務的長遠發展。