Women in CPPCC and NPC say true sexual equality is elusive
Women in CPPCC and national legislature say that traditional values continue to slant opportunities in the country towards men
The official UN theme for this year's International Women's Day is "equality for women is progress for all", but even China's most powerful women say they still have not shattered the glass ceiling.
"I think there need to be more opportunities for women, especially in the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), of which women only make up about 20 per cent," CPPCC delegate Du Jie said.
"In some regions, females contribute much more than men. For example in Hainan , men sit around drinking tea and playing mahjong while women do all the heavy farm work, which is unfair."
Sexual equality was essential in education, said Gao Wei , the head of Peking University Third Hospital and a fellow CPPCC delegate. "Female medical school graduates have a tough time finding jobs, yet males have no problem," Gao said.
At the last National Women's Congress in October, President Xi Jinping stressed the need for equality and the importance of women in Chinese society. In the latest "Annual Report on Chinese Women's State of Life" released last March, 42 per cent of women who responded to a government survey conducted in major cities saw their incomes rise in 2012, and only 22 per cent were satisfied with them.
"Women are retiring too soon, some at 45. Isn't it a waste to quit so early after all those years of work experience?" asked Hai Liman , a CPPCC delegate and a senior official of the Xinjiang Red Cross. "We should promote female cadres, as all the speeches were dominated by men."