South China’s Guangzhou municipality is pondering over a law that would be instrumental in broadening the job avenues for women, which were primarily male dominated.
The bill has advocated a fine of 5,000 yuan (about 641 U.S. dollars) for the employers if they impose gender restrictions on jobs that women are capable of doing.
Li Jin, a congress representative and president of the Guangzhou Municipal Women’s Federation asserted that some heavy-labor jobs like mining are not suitable for women, ‘males only’ or ‘males preferred’ restrictions have been abused by employers.
The restrictions are an outrageous infringement on women’s rights, Li said. But others are skeptical about whether the law will make much difference in practice.
Apart from trying to remove gender barriers in employment, the bill includes clauses to protect women from sexual harassment and domestic violence.
At present, the bill is under consideration in the local people’s congress.
