Employers in Southwest China's Yunnan Province shall not lay off a woman employee or reduce her salary or welfare benefits because she got married or pregnant, or because she gave birth and/or is breastfeeding her baby, in accordance with a special regulation on women's labor protection that took effect on November 1, 2024. 

The regulation states employers shall not refuse to recruit women based on gender, unless authorities have defined the position in question as not suitable for women. Also, employers are not permitted to ask women job applicants about their marital or childbearing status.

The regulation also states employers shall provide a proper work environment, protective measures and acceptable equipment to women employees based on relevant laws and/or regulations. Employers shall organize training in labor security, vocational skills, mental health and labor-protection laws and regulations for their women workers. 

The regulation also prohibits employers from asking women employees to do work deemed not suitable for women when they menstruate, based on relevant laws. It also states employers shall allow their women workers to have one or two days off if they suffer from serious menstrual pain.

(Women of China English Monthly November 2024)

Editor: Wang Shasha