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Chapter 12. Employment Equality

Section 2. Social Structure

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 12. Employment Equality

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Outline

• Introduction• State of employment equality• Gender equality• Age equality• Appearance equality• Road ahead

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 12. Employment Equality

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Introduction

• The firm’s logic of finding the best employee• Several comments– Biases appear to be customer driven. – Confusion among executives about what

constitutes employment equality– Government must play a role in ensuring

employment equality

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State of employment equality

• Major national laws ensuring employment equality in China. – “Workers should not be subject to discrimination

because of their ethnic backgrounds, races, gender, religious beliefs, etc.” - Law of the People’s Republic of China on Promotion of Employment

– The elements of “birthplace, industry, social status, and gender” were included into Decisions made during the 3rd Plenary Session of 18th CPC Central Committee

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State of employment equality

• Favorable treatment of minority ethnic groups– Article 28 of the Law on Promotion of Employment– The quota system and the point system in

universities and government agencies– Exemption from the rigid one-child policy

• The treatment of disabled citizens

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State of employment equality

Three areas in which employment equality has yet to be fully realized. • Gender equality(codified in Chinese law, but

not implemented sufficiently)• Age equality (not codified in Chinese law, but

relevant laws exist in other countries)• Appearance equality(not codified in Chinese

law, or in other countries)

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State of employment equality

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 12. Employment Equality

A hiring advertisement outside a chain restaurant in Shanghai, 2012, with relevant criteria translated below.

Store Manager: younger than 35 years.Assistant Manager: younger than 35 years.Shift Supervisor: 20-26 years, healthy, appearance must be presentable, male taller than 170 cm, female taller than 150 cm.Server: 16-35 years, male taller than 170 cm, female taller than 150 cm.

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Gender equality

• Article 27 in Law on Promotion of Employment• Females have experienced many forms of employment

discrimination. • E.g., An online survey– More than 90% believed they or their friends had suffered

gender discrimination in the job market– Reasons: “having a child” (43.3%), “women don’t fit in to the

lifestyle associated with some types of work (35.2%) etc.• E.g., The first ever lawsuit based on gender

discrimination in employment was filed in 2012

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Age equality

• An overcorrection to the lifetime appointment practices of the Mao era--to open doors to younger people

• E.g., a story of a senior VP• Age discrimination occurs in three contexts:

hiring, promotion and retirement.

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Age Discrimination

Hiring:• Age discrimination in hiring is very common

both in public agencies and private business.• Anyone older than 40 will have a harder time

getting a new job.

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Age Discrimination

Promotion:• Age is used as a cutoff or in a point system• E.g., The group SVP or promotion of the public

officials (45)

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Age Discrimination

Retirement:• Mandatory retirement – the average

retirement age is 56.1 (male, 58.3; female, 52.4)

• China doesn’t have formal legislation against age discrimination compared to other countries– The Age Discrimination in Employment Act in the

United StatesThe Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014

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Appearance equality

• The Chinese people think it is perfectly acceptable to use appearance as a criterion in hiring decisions

• The first thing a potential employer will evaluate is an applicant’s face– E.g.,resume including the photo of the individual

• The aesthetics industry is thriving in China• Many firms will only hire someone who is taller

than a certain height. The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014

Chapter 12. Employment Equality

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Road ahead

• The three forms of inequality described above will gradually recede.

• The public sector must lead the change.– Change internal hiring practices– Create appropriate legislation– Change public perceptions about what is normal

and acceptable behavior. – Appearance discrimination can be eradicated

quickly if the government makes it a focus.

The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 12. Employment Equality