Job seekers consult an employer at a career fair dedicated to women in Haikou, Hainan province, on Tuesday. More than 50 companies offered some 1,300 positions. (LUO YUNFEI / CHINA NEWS SERVICE)

The central government will further promote gender equality in employment this year and make efforts to protect female workers' rights by revising the Labor Law and enhancing supervision of the job market.

A 37-year-old Beijing housewife surnamed Zhou who has two children plans to find a job this year but has concerns about what jobs will be available to her given her age and family conditions.

"I'm still eager for a job even though I've been a housewife for almost three years," she said. "I used to work as a customer relations manager at a shopping mall in Beijing, but the household chores and education problems of my kids messed up my life and made me quit the job in 2019.

"I tried to balance work and life, but failed. It's not bad being a housewife anyway. I plan to find a job this year, but I'm afraid that I may be rejected as I'm entering the middle-aged group and I have a family to take care of."

Zhao is one of many women struggling to balance family commitments and employment, and gender and age discrimination in the job market have added to their concerns.

A survey this month by Zhaopin, an online recruitment platform, found that 61.2 percent of female respondents said they had been asked during job interviews about their marriage status and plans to have children, up from 55.8 percent in a survey last year.

Only 32.3 percent of male respondents said they were asked about marriage and plans to have children.

The survey also found that over 62 percent of female respondents viewed attitudes toward marriage and gender differences as the main causes of job market discrimination. The survey shows that females want fairer treatment in a range of areas.

The government has been making efforts to eliminate the problem of gender discrimination in employment through supporting policies and market supervision.

In the annual Government Work Report released on Saturday, the central government said it will prevent and correct gender and age discrimination this year, and address problems and illegal behaviors encroaching on workers' rights.

Deputies to the National People's Congress and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have also come up with ideas and proposals to help women strive for fairer treatment.

Jiang Shengnan, a deputy to the 13th NPC who is also a researcher at Wenzhou University in Zhejiang province, told China Women's News recently that she has suggested the nation formulate uniform and practical regulations on maternity and paternity leave because such entitlements differ in various provinces and regions.

She said that as the length of maternity leave has increased－ranging from 128 to 190 days, depending on local policies－women may end up facing more gender discrimination because men only take seven to 30 days of paternity leave, with the norm in most provinces 15 days.

Cui Yu, a member of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, proposed clearly defining the legal liability for gender discrimination when revising the Law on Protecting Women's Rights, China Education Daily reported.

Cui, former vice-president of the All-China Women's Federation, said it's also important to enhance supervision of the job market and punish improper behaviors related to gender discrimination to promote gender equality in employment.

In addition to the efforts of the government and officials, women are also doing their utmost to win equal treatment in the job market.

The Zhaopin survey found that 80.3 percent of female respondents had made efforts to enhance their working skills to become more competitive, and 4.1 percent had exposed their unfair treatment to gain assistance from the public.

Zhao said she believes women will gain more respect in the job market and fairer promotions in the future.

"No pain, no gain," she said. "Society is helping us and we women are trying our best to win equal opportunities. It's just a matter of time.