The persistence of gender discrimination in China – evidence from recruitment advertisements

Abstract

In this paper we present an analysis of recruitment advertisements that suggests that Chinese employers frequently discriminate on gender grounds, both directly and indirectly. We illustrate how employers continue to use entrenched stereotypes and perpetuate highly segregated expectations of men and women's roles at work, predominantly to the detriment of women and hindering their progress in the labour market. The paper concludes that while employers' recruitment practices are not the only cause of women's continued labour-market disadvantage -and are in themselves a function of the wider of economic, socio-cultural and ideological factors that underlie it (Kitching 2001;Patrickson 2001;Leung 2003;Cooke 2005) -a change to employer behaviour in this area is a necessary and potentially achievable step forward towards greater equality.

Social expectations, gender and job satisfaction: Front‐line employees in China's retail sector

“…Even amongst young Chinese urban professionals anticipating entry into the workforce, traditional gender roles appear pervasive; they expect women to perform more household tasks, be paid less and have less prestigious jobs (Coffey et al ., ). Further recent research indicates that employers frequently discriminate on gender grounds (Woodhams et al ., ). Chinese female employees are caught between contradictory expectations from their roles at home and at the workplace; they face a gap between high expectations inspired by the prevailing ideology and the reality of discrimination and inequality in the workplace as well as their typically assigned caring roles in the family.…”

“…In China, the expectation that women should ‘serve’ appears to extend beyond the family sphere; it tends to be accepted as normal that women predominate in much service sector work. A recent study on recruitment advertisements in China reported that female applicants were sought for 71 per cent of jobs involving selling (Woodhams et al ., ). Therefore:…”

Individualization and Marketization of Responsibility for Gender Equality: The Case of Female Managers in China

“…Although the official rhetoric still evokes the figurative casting of women as holding up half the sky, research shows that female employees and managers experience widespread devaluation and discrimination (Bowen, Wu, Hwang, & Scherer, ; Granrose, ; Han, ; Maurer‐Fazio, Rawski, & Zhang, ). As Woodhams, Lupton, and Xian () found, traditional gender norms and expectations have a strong influence on recruitment and selection processes.…”

Women Managers’ Careers in China: Theorizing the Influence of Gender and Collectivism

“…Third, the protection of women from discrimination has lessened further with the liberalization of the economy, where more women have become remote from the protection of the state as an employer (Cooke, ; Leung, ). Recent evidence suggests that employment discrimination is commonplace (Woodhams, Lupton, & Xian, ) and that women are more likely to be laid off and obliged to enter informal sectors of the economy where protection and support are lower still (Berik et al, ; Cook & Dong, ; Cooke, ).…”