Abstract
To determine if Chinese employers discriminated when hiring females in 1996 and 2005, we applied the statistical approach of Johnson (1983) and Mohanty (1998) to the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) questionnaire (1997 data and pooled data of 2004 and 2006). Empirical results of the 1996 sample reveal that male workers generally received less favorable treatment and, consequently, enjoyed a lower average employment probability than female workers. However, approximately a decade after the enactment of the labor law, the 2005 sample shows that male workers were generally preferentially treated relative to female workers with otherwise identical laboring characteristics. Our empirical results suggest that an increase in the educational level of females, in the employment probability of females aged 25 and younger, and in the employment chances of females working in the government sector may prove effective in eliminating employment discrimination by gender.
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Notes
- 1.
The labor law was promulgated in 1994 and put into effect in 1995.
- 2.
- 3.
The survey was conducted by the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) in 2006; it included 3,454 questionnaires and covered ten cities (Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Shenyang, Sian, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Yinchuan, and Qingdao).
Source: http://www.eeo.com.cn/eeo/jjgcb/2007/07/02/73823.html
- 4.
Assumptions of unit variance are typically made in probit analysis to avoid estimating parameters to a scalar proportion.
- 5.
This should not, however, be interpreted as a measure of discrimination, as part of it may be attributable to other unmeasured characteristics (Blau and Beller 1988).
- 6.
- 7.
The 2003 and 2005 data are pooled for our analysis; moreover, we convert the income in 2003 into the income in 2005, taking into account the price increase or decrease of each province.
- 8.
The survey includes the following question: “How many years of formal education have you completed in a regular school?” Based on the methodologies of other studies, we regard these years as follows: master’s degree or higher (19 years), 4 years of college/university (16 years), 3 years of college/university (15 years), 2 years of college/university (14 years), 1 year of college/university (13 years); 3 years of technical school or upper middle school (12 years), 2 years of technical school or upper middle school (11 years), 1 year of technical school or upper middle school (10 years); 3 years of lower middle school (9 years), 2 years of lower middle school (8 years), 1 year of lower middle school (7 years); 6 years of primary school (6 years), 5 years of primary school (5 years), 4 years of primary school (4 years), 3 years of primary school (3 years), and 2 years of primary school and lower (2 years).
- 9.
Based on the China Employment Discrimination Survey Questionnaire Report, 32 % of respondents (females) encountered discrimination when applying for civil service positions.
- 10.
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Chen, G., Hamori, S. (2014). Do Chinese Employers Discriminate Against Females When Hiring Employees?. In: Rural Labor Migration, Discrimination, and the New Dual Labor Market in China. SpringerBriefs in Economics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41109-0_4
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