On October 30, 2022, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s highest legislative body, approved a revision of the Law on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests (unofficial English translation). The new law took effect on January 1, 2023. Before this current comprehensive revision, the law had been amended in 2005 and then slightly modified in 2018.
The revision expands the previous law from 61 articles in nine chapters to 86 articles in 10 chapters. It aims to promote gender equality in a variety of areas, including women’s political rights, personality rights, cultural and educational rights, employment, property rights, and rights and interests related to marriage and family. It also provides relief measures for women whose rights have been harmed. The following are some of the highlights of the new law.
Preventing Sexual Harassment
Article 1010 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China stipulates that employers and schools must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The new law now contains specific provisions against sexual harassment that are based on the Civil Code.
1. Clarifying the Forms of Sexual Harassment
The new law specifies that sexual harassment of a woman against her will by means of spoken words, texts, images, and physical behaviors is prohibited. (Art. 23.)
2. Specifying the Obligations of Employers, Schools, and Hotels
The new law outlines in detail employers’ obligations to prevent sexual harassment, including formulating rules against sexual harassment, designating bodies and personnel responsible for preventing sexual harassment, carrying out relevant training, adopting necessary safety measures, setting up complaint hotlines and mailboxes, establishing investigation and discipline procedures, promptly addressing disputes, protecting parties’ personal information, supporting women victims in safeguarding their rights, and providing psychological counseling. (Art. 25.)
Schools are to conduct education on physical health, mental wellness, and self-protection, and establish rules to prevent and address sexual harassment effectively. (Art. 24.)
Furthermore, hotels must accurately register guest information, establish guest services rules, strengthen security measures, and call the police regarding any conduct that may infringe women’s rights. (Art. 26.)
3. Specifying the Legal Liabilities of Employers and Hotel Managers
The competent authority at a higher level of an employer who fails to fulfill their obligations under article 25 must order them to make corrections. If the employer refuses to do so or the violations are severe, the person directly responsible must be disciplined. (Art. 80.) In addition, if the employer fails to take reasonable measures to prevent and stop sexual harassment, the procuratorate may bring public interest litigation against them where such violations harm the public interest. (Art. 77.)
Hotels failing to call the police will be given warnings, be suspended for rectification or lose their business licenses and permits, and be fined at least 10,000 yuan (RMB) (about US$1,437) but not more than RMB50,000 (about US$7,182). (Art. 81.)
Eliminating Gender-Based Discrimination in Recruitment
The provisions on gender discrimination in recruitment under the previous law were general, and only prohibited employers from refusing to hire women because of their gender, raising hiring standards for women, or imposing marriage, pregnancy, or maternity restrictions on women employees in employment contracts. (Previous law art. 23.)
The new law details a list of behaviors that employers must not engage in during the recruitment process, including limiting job offers to males or providing that males have priority or giving priority to men, inquiring about the marital and maternal situation of women job applicants, requiring pregnancy tests in the onboard physical examination, making marriage or maternity status a condition for recruitment and employment, and other similar acts. (Art. 43.)
In addition, if an employer violates the above provisions, the human resource and social security authorities are to order the employer to make corrections. If the employer refuses to do so or the violations are serious, they will be fined at least RMB10,000 but not more than RMB50,000. (Art. 83.)
Protecting Maternity Rights
The previous law stipulated that employers were not allowed to reduce the salary of female employees or fire them because they were married, pregnant, on maternity leave, or breastfeeding. (Previous law art. 27.)
The new law expands these protections, stating that (1) employers are not allowed to reduce the benefits of women employees or restrict them from being promoted as a result of their marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, or breastfeeding, and (2) if a female employee’s employment contract expires during her pregnancy or maternity leave, her employment contract will be automatically extended until the end of the maternity leave. (Art. 48.)
The human resource and social security authorities are to order an employer that violates the above provisions to make corrections. If the employer refuses to do so or the violations are serious, they will be fined at least RMB10,000 but not more than RMB50,000. (Art. 83.)
Prepared by Xiaozhu Zhong, Law Library intern, under the supervision of Laney Zhang, Foreign Law Specialist
Law Library of Congress, January 13, 2023
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