China reaffirms its prohibition on gender discrimination in recruiting

On 21 February 2019, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, along with eight other government authorities, jointly issued the Circular on Further Regulating Recruitment Practices to Promote Female Employment to further clarify China’s prohibition on gender discrimination during the employment recruitment process and to promote equal employment for women.

The circular stipulates that in recruitment planning, job advertisements and job interviews, employers and HR service agencies may not:

(i) Impose restrictions on a candidate’s gender or prioritize candidates based on gender;

(ii) Refuse to hire women based on their gender;

(iii) Ask questions about a female candidate’s marital and parental status;

(iv) Include a pregnancy test as part of the on-boarding health examination; or

(v) Impose childbirth restrictions as a condition of employment.