By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– Employment discrimination against women in China remains deeply rooted in culture and practice.  A report from BBC released late last week reveals several career paths that women are flat-out banned from pursuing.

China’s education ministry bans girls from studying a variety of subjects across China, from tunnel engineering to navigation – apparently out of respect for women’s safety. Reports have continually emerged revealing a pattern of women being discriminated against when attempting to gain places at Chinese universities.

According to some, girls were scoring so well in strict admissions tests that a higher percentage was being admitted than men. In response to these rising numbers restrictive practices were implemented as early as 2005, including limiting the programs in which women could enroll.

A book by the government-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has characterized the gender imbalance between boys and girls as one of the biggest challenges facing China today.

The state’s one-child policy continues to showcase the clearest signal of the second-class status of girls in the country, experts have said.

“The policy takes a position that fundamentally discriminates against girls,” said Professor Feng Yuan of the Centre for Women’s Studies at China’s Shantou University.

In China, the idea that girls can’t or shouldn’t do the same jobs as boys is passed on early. It’s a lesson that extends into higher education and beyond. Gender stereotypes are instilled in younger generations at China’s “I Have a Dream” theme park in Beijing, which allows young children to assume various career roles. The park encourages children to choose gender specific roles, and for young girls, the most popular attraction is pretending to be a flight attendant.

At the university level stereotyping takes on a more tangible form.  At the China Mining and Technology University in eastern Jiangsu province, women are completely barred from pursuing a degree in mining engineering, a degree which effectively guarantees employment after graduation.

“China’s labor law suggests mining work is unsuitable for women, so we ask women to refrain from applying to our major,” explains one of the department’s senior professors, Shu Jisen.

At one university in Dalian, northern China, females are barred from studying naval engineering – because months on board a ship would be tough for women to endure, one admissions officer explained.

Slightly different reasons are given for severely restricting the number of women who can study at Beijing’s People’s Police University, which has a strict quota, limiting girls to comprise 10-15% of the student body. One admissions officer told BBC that women were not permitted because job opportunities in policing were scarce, as most people expect police officers to be male.

Professor Shu Jisen argues that some jobs are just “inappropriate” for women. “If they forced their way into these jobs,” he continued, “they will waste energy.”

Last year, young women challenged this notion and ignited a grassroots confrontation with the Chinese Ministry of Education over the gender discrimination. The women shaved their heads in objection to several universities across China that make it easier for men than women to gain acceptance.

“It was blatant gender discrimination,” argues one of the student activists, Xiao Meili. “No-one had stood up to these universities before, and told them these policies were wrong. Why didn’t anyone want to change anything? It really made me very angry.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News– 100 Women: The jobs Chinese girls just can’t do — 16 October 2013

South China Morning Post– China’s women professionals challenge workplace inequality — 13 October 2013

Huffington Post– Chinese Women Still Face Discrimination Against Men In Bid For Jobs — 17 October 2013

Mining.com– Chinese girls want to break down barriers to mining — 17 October 2013