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Prosecutors in eastern China have accused 16 companies of illegally administering pregnancy tests to job applicants.
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More than a dozen Chinese companies are facing lawsuits for requiring job applicants to show passports. State media reported that a pregnancy test had been conducted.
A prosecutorial investigation found that 168 women seeking employment at 16 companies in Nantong city, east China’s Jiangsu province, were illegally tested as part of pre-employment physical examinations, the state-run Prosecutor’s Daily reported on Monday.
The case highlights a fundamental contradiction in China’s economy: At a time when the country is trying to boost a record-low birth rate, some companies are reluctant to hire pregnant workers.
Employers are reportedly avoiding hiring women of childbearing age, with women being asked about their family planning during job interviews and in some cases being rejected if they have no plans to have children.
Chinese law prohibits employers from conducting pregnancy tests or discriminating against pregnant workers.
In Nantong, authorities received a tip from an online public interest litigation group that some employers in the city were administering pregnancy tests to job applicants. Prosecutors reportedly worked with the group to launch an investigation, visiting two major public hospitals and a health examination center.
At least one woman who was found to be pregnant was not hired, prosecutors said.
The report did not name the companies or say whether they had been fined. Under Chinese law, companies that engage in gender discrimination can be fined up to 50,000 yuan ($6,900).
China’s population has declined for two consecutive years, and its birth rate in 2023 is expected to be the lowest since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. By 2022, China will be overtaken by India as the world’s most populous country.
The demographic crisis is a threat to the world’s second-largest economy and has deepened in recent years despite efforts by authorities to reverse trends following decades of birth-control policies.
Alarmed by the recent decline in the birth rate, the government abolished the 35-year-old “one-child policy.” In 2015, couples were allowed to have two children, and in 2021 this was raised to three.
02:23 – Source: CNN
People in China don’t want to have children. Let’s find out why.
However, the policy change had little effect on population decline.
According to a recent report by Youhe Population Research Institute, China is one of the most expensive countries in the world to raise children in relative terms, with the disproportionate impact on women contributing to the country’s sharply declining birth rate.
According to the report, the national average cost of raising a child from birth to age 17 is about $74,800, with the cost of earning a bachelor’s degree rising to more than $94,500. The cost of raising a child in China to age 18 is 6.3 times the country’s GDP per capita.
The report said women who take maternity leave may face “unfair treatment” at work, including being transferred to another team, having their pay cut and missing out on promotion opportunities.
