Most people have experienced some kind of discrimination when seeking jobs,
according to a survey.
The discrimination involves gender, age, educational background and physical
attributes.
The recent survey covered 3,500 people in 10 major cities. Eighty-five per
cent of the respondents acknowledge the existence of job discrimination and
slightly more than half said there exists "serious discrimination".
Conducted by the Constitutional Government Research Institute of China
University of Politics and Law, the survey was to gauge fairness in the booming
job market in China.
Cai Dingjian, head of the institute, told the media job discrimination can be
found in almost all walks of life in obvious and invisible forms.
"Some so-called must-be requirements for jobs are ridiculous," Cai said.
Female job seekers encounter discrimination over future maternity leave .
"We have to conquer the multi-tier barriers of gender, job skills, working
experience, and talent, to be treated equally as men. Otherwise, even top female
students could lose out to males of average level performance," said an
anonymous 22-year-old from Chongqing Normal University.
Most job advertisements detail gender, age, nationality, ethnic group,
marriage status, height, educational background and working experience.
Some overstep the mark by requiring applicants to be "above average looking"
or a "good social drinker".
Physically disabled people topped the discrimination list. Sixty-six percent
said they had experienced some kind of discrimination.
They were followed by people suffering from the HIV/AIDS virus, hepatitis B , and migrant workers.
Mo Rong, deputy director of the labour science research institute under the
Ministry of Labor and Social Security, told China Daily the lack of legal
support is to blame.
However, the drafting of the Employment Promotion Law will help alleviate the
problem, he said.
（China Daily
