most people, even women themselves, believe that women in china have achieved equality. they think women now "have held up half the sky." they can take up almost all the professions once only occupied by men, and can even receive equal pay for equal work.

　　despite the enormous strides women have made,i argue that chinese women still have a long way to go in their struggle for real equality in every field of the society.

　　needless to say, attitudes are more difficult to change than laws. in principle, women`s liberation or equality is no longer a problem, and women are entitled to compete with men for jobs on equal terms. but in practice, women are still thought of as in ferior that cannot take up responsible jobs. cases of sexual discrimination are often heard of. the situation is even worse now when the market oriented economy is adopted and personal abilities, both physical and intellectual, are increasingly stressed.

　　no longer can the government influence the employment policies of enterprises, which are now in favor of male applicants. on the job market, many companies and factories are unwilling to employ girl graduates because they don`t want to spend time and money training them while taking the risk of their leaving to have children after they get married. when employment rate drops,women workers are usually the first to be laid off. in shanghai,for example, many female workers merely over forty are forced to return home or retire.

　　they account for nearly 90 percent of the people out of work. even if they are allowed to continue to work until the legal age for retirement, their chances of promotion are much more slim than their male counterparts. even in the government, despite its commitment to women`s equality,wome