According to the survey, the employment rate of women aged between 18 and 49 has decreased by more than 16 percentage points compared to 1990. More than half of all laid-off workers are women.

For working women in cities, their average income is roughly 70 per cent that of men, representing a disparity of about 7 percentage points wider than that of a decade ago.

This could be based on the fact far fewer women want to have a voice in the managerial affairs of their units, even though China has many more women leaders in every aspect of social life than ever before, survey analysts said.

According to the survey, only about 42 per cent of women staff are concerned with the politics of their organizations, in contrast with more than 58 per cent of men.

"Politics is a men's game and I do not have much interest in that. What concerns me most is completing well whatever is assigned to me and getting paid on time," said 31-year-old Ban Lin, an editor with a national newspaper.

Ban admitted that enjoying a comfortable life appealed more to her than career ups and downs.

But "not enough positive responses" to her past suggestions is also a reason for her indifference to organizational affairs, she said.

"One usual case is when the guy sitting beside me puts forward a suggestion, our department head at least listens. But when it comes to me, his look always gives me an impression that he is only pretending to be listening," Ban said.

"Besides, a woman ready to suggest this or that is not preferred by colleagues. The ideal female in our office is the one working hard, smiling a lot, but criticizing little."

Ban's case is far from being unique. The result of the survey echoes her words with the following figures - only about 16 per cent of women staff, 7.5 percentage points less than for men, have ever put forward suggestions.

While most of the men surveyed said their suggestions had been taken on board, most of the women said their suggestions had only brought "negative" results.

It is this attitude towards the ability of women that freezes almost 65 per cent of them in low-ranking positions, said Deng Li from the federation.

"While gender equality is widely recognized in China, the social tradition and climate promoting a subordinate female role in relation to the male role persists," Deng said.

Consequently, the survey found 20 per cent of the men had promotion opportunities in the past three years, while a little more than 16 per cent of their female counterparts did.

In addition, fewer women have been protected by proper unemployment and retirement pensions, which Deng says will prompt the federation to suggest that the National People's Congress (NPC) - the country's top legislature - write "safeguarding equality in employment" into the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests.

"Because for most Chinese women, working is still a pre-requisite for independence," she said.

Under the proposed stipulation, the NPC or related government departments should still produce supporting regulations forbidding all kinds of discrimination.

"Discrimination against women has become the most severe problem in the employment market in China, ranging from higher recruitment requirements for women to scarce promotion opportunities and humiliating workplace abuse," Deng said.

(China Daily December 16, 2002)