China's new policy against gender bias meets fans, sceptics

BEIJING – China has announced new measures against gender discrimination that will prevent employers from asking potential female hires questions such as if they are married or have children.

Many have welcomed the government notice published Thursday, which explicitly bans companies and recruitment agencies from taking certain discriminatory actions against female employees and job candidates.

But female workers and analysts alike are skeptical that such measures can be strictly enforced.

The notice forbids companies from including pregnancy tests in health checkups required for employment, and orders employers to not place restrictions on the number of children that women can have as a condition of hiring. It also says companies that post discriminatory job ads can be fined up to 50,000 yuan ($7440).