Most people have experienced some kind of discrimination* when seeking jobs, according to a recent survey.

The discrimination involves gender*, age, educational background and physical condition.

The survey covered 3,500 people in 10 major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Shenyang, Xi’an, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Yinchuan and Qingdao. Eighty-five percent of the respondents* acknowledge the existence of job discrimination and slightly more than half said there exists “serious discrimination.”

Conducted by the Constitutional Government Research Institute of China University of Politics and Law, the survey was aimed at gauging* fairness in the country’s booming job market.

Cai Dingjian, head of the institute, revealed that job discrimination can be found in almost all walks of life in obvious and less obvious forms.

“Some so-called must-be requirements for jobs are ridiculous*,” Cai said.

Female job seekers encounter* discrimination over future maternity leave*.

“We have to conquer the barriers of gender, job skills, working experience, and talent, to be treated equally as men. Otherwise, even top female students could lose out to males of average-level performance,” said an anonymous* 22-year-old from Chongqing Normal University.

Most job advertisements detail gender, age, nationality, ethnic group, marriage status, height, educational background and working experience.

Some even require applicants to be “above average looking” or a “good drinker.” Some ask for a minimum height of 1.8 meters for men and 1.7 for women.

Physically disabled people topped the discrimination list. Sixty-six percent said they had experienced some kind of discrimination.

They were followed by people with the HIV/AIDS virus, hepatitis B*, and migrant workers.

Mo Rong, deputy director of the labor science research institute under the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, said that the lack of legal support is to blame. However, the drafting of the Employment Promotion Law will help ease the problem, he said. (SD-Agencies)