Shenzhen adopts measures to protect women's rights in workplace

Shenzhen recently released a policy to protect the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, promoting gender equality in the workplace.

This policy clearly outlines provisions on various aspects, including equal employment rights, reproductive rights, labor protection and health safeguards, as well as collective bargaining.

As per the policy, employers are prohibited from prioritizing male candidates or refusing to hire female applicants during recruitment processes. It explicitly bans inquiries into female jobseekers' marital and reproductive status, and eliminates pregnancy tests from the pre-employment medical examination. Additionally, female employees should have equal rights to promotions and career advancements.

Reproductive rights protection is a key focus. Employers are prohibited from reducing the salaries of female employees, dismissing them, or unilaterally terminating their labor contracts due to marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. Employers must legally participate in medical insurance plans that include maternity insurance, ensuring that female employees can receive the stipulated maternity benefits during maternity leave, covering medical expenses, maternity allowances, and one-time nutritional subsidies.

Employers are required to enhance special labor protections for female employees and organize training on occupational health and safety. Facilities such as maternity lounges and nursing rooms should be established to optimize the health and safety conditions of female employees. Regular health examinations, including gynecological and breast disease checks that cater to the specific needs of female employees, should be scheduled. Additionally, employers bear the responsibility to prevent and prohibit sexual harassment against female employees, strictly forbidding any sexual harassment actions that violate women's will through language, text, images, or physical behaviors.

At the collective bargaining level, when conducting negotiations, employers must ensure that female employee representatives participate in proportion to the number of female employees.