Female professionals, civil servants reach more than 40 % in China

Women account for 42.5 percent of civil servants in all levels of government across China, said the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security here Monday. The government has worked to provide more opportunities and training for women, said Xin Changxing, vice minister of human resources and social security, at a meeting here. Additionally, 45.1 percent of professionals in state-owned enterprises and public institutions are women, he said. Among high-level experts and researchers enjoying government subsidies, 11.5 percent are female, Xin added. But according to a survey conducted by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last December, only 2.2 percent of working women have been chief officials in government departments, state-owned enterprises and public institutions, about half the ratio of men. The survey was based on the responses of 105,573 women throughout the country and the results were published on Oct. 21. Song Xiuyan, ACWF vice chairwoman, said at a press conference in October that Chinese women still face obvious discrimination in their careers, especially concerning promotions to high-level posts.