It seems that I am now on a lucky streak! I’ve just learnt my article entitled ‘How Far Women in China have come and how far still to go" have been nominated as an entry for ‘Online Story of the Year’ for We Journalism Award! We Jouanlism Awards

Being a die-hard atheist, I never imaged I would become a Godmother or such a character. Yet I became one yesterday to a large ship named Lentikia. Great fun! It took place in a shipyard in Zhoushan, some four hours drive South of Shanghai. The bulk carrier’s owner Patrice, a wealthy half Brazilian and half… Continue reading Lijia the Godmother – to a Brazilian ship

I spent one night at Park Hyatt in Shanghai, on the way to Zhoushan to christen a Brazilian ship. And today, I had the pleasure to have lunch with Shaun Rein, a leading strategy consultant and the author of recently published book The End of Copy Cat China.

On Monday Nov. 17, 2014, I had the pleasure and honour to give a speech at EU China Economic and Finance Forum held in Beijing. It was organized by AsiaMatters, an economic institute based in Dublin, chaired by Alan Dukes, a well-known Irish politician. EU ambassador Schweisgut gave a welcome speech, stressing the purpose of… Continue reading Developing a Better Understanding of China’s Past to Better Comprehend Present Day Reforms

窗体顶端 窗体底端 INSIGHT & OPINION · MON · Nov 17, 2014 · COMMENT›INSIGHT & OPINION Think tanks with Chinese characteristics won’t fully succeed in muzzling scholars Lijia Zhang says Xi Jinping’s attempt to rein in public intellectuals can only go so far in the internet age PUBLISHED : Monday, 17 November, 2014, 4:48am UPDATED :… Continue reading my piece in today’s South China Morning Post about on Think Tank with Chinese characteristics

Victory: a small one. Huang Rong, who sued the cooking school for gender discrimination, is now rewarded 2000 yuan’s compensation for the spirtual damage. 浙江就业性别歧视第一案胜诉 女大学生状告新东方烹饪学校 法院认定就业歧视成立 [义务提供以下新闻线索，欢迎采用、引用、采访报道] 2014年11月12日 11月12日，法院通知黄蓉前往领取民事判决书。法院认定新东方烹饪学校存在性别歧视，并且要求新东方烹饪学校赔偿黄蓉精神损害抚慰金2000元，浙江性别歧视第一案，全国性别歧视第二案，一审终于落下帷幕。 事件回顾：女大学生应聘文员遭拒绝，新东方烹饪直言只招男被诉 2014年7月8日，河南籍应届女大学毕业生黄蓉（化名）通过杭州市西湖区人民法院起诉新东方烹饪学校（招聘广告上为新东方烹饪学校，注册名为杭州市西湖区东方烹饪职业技能培训学校)。在应聘该企业的文案这一职位时，她多次被以“限招男性”为由拒绝，对于这种招聘过程中的性别歧视行为，她选择了向法院提起诉讼。在多番波折辗转之后，法院终于在2014年8月13日受理本案，并于2014年9月10日进行了公开审理。 胜诉：法院认定被告存在就业性别歧视，判赔精神损害抚慰金 在判决书中，法院根据《中华人民共和国劳动法》、《中华人民共和国就业促进法》等法律法规，肯定了劳动者就业不能因性别等情况不同而受到歧视，除国家规定的不适合妇女的工种或者岗位外，不得以性别为由拒绝录用妇女或者提高对妇女的录用条件。并且认定，根据被告即新东方烹饪学校发布的招聘要求，女性完全可以胜任该岗位工作，其所辩称的需招录男性的理由与法律不符，其行为侵犯了原告平等就业的权利，对原告实施了就业歧视，给原告造成了一定的精神损害，判决被告赔偿黄蓉精神损害抚慰金2000元，但以法律依据不足为由驳回了黄蓉要求被告书面赔礼道歉的诉讼请求。 现实：性别歧视成为限制女性发展的重要社会问题 当事人代理律师许英表示：“数据显示像黄蓉一样遭遇过类似境况的女性绝不在少数。2011年，全国妇联发展部发表的《女大学生就业创业状况调查报告》指出，56.7%的被访女大学生在求职过程中感到“女生机会更少”；91.9%的被访女大学生感受到用人单位的性别偏见。被访女大学生中，21.1%的人“经常”感觉到性别偏见，25.3%的人“时常”感觉到，45.4%的人“偶尔”感觉到。 而据另一调查——中国政法大学宪政研究在2010年发布的《当前大学生就业歧视状况的调查报告》显示，在应聘过程中，68.98%的用人单位对大学生求职者的性别有明确要求。 专家说法：判决起到了良好的示范作用 中国政法大学法学院教授刘小楠就该判决评论道：中国在女性就业歧视案件上最大的问题是没有判例，虽然中国不是判例法国家，但是对于法律只有原则性规定的性别歧视案件，判例对于实践该部分法律起到至关重要的作用。这次杭州市西湖区法院的判决是继中国就业性别歧视第一案（曹菊状告巨人教育）后的全国第二例，有了前面的判例，西湖区法院的立案和判决就比之前快得多，法院的压力也小了很多，再次为消除就业中普遍存在的对女性的就业歧视起到了良好的示范作用。 采访联系人电话： （为保护尊重当事人意愿，请不要将电话发布到新闻报道中） 黄蓉（当事人）：18966160265 许英（江苏衡鼎律师事务所律师）：13915938037 刘小楠（中国政法大学法学院教授）：13910077007 附件1：相关新闻报道 《中国妇女报》因招工限男性女大学毕业生状告企业,本案成为全国性别就业歧视第二案 http://dengshicheng.com/content/2014-08/16/007808.html 《东北新闻网》破拆就业性别歧视壁垒还需法律给力 http://news.nen.com.cn/system/2014/08/23/012658439.shtml 《网易女人》不要女文秘？女大学生状告新东方烹饪学校 http://lady.163.com/14/0818/10/A3U42FSG002649P6.html 《中国新闻网》女大学生求职遭歧视追踪：法院开庭被告拒不到庭 http://news.xinhuanet.com/yzyd/legal/20140911/c_1112441056.htm 《美国之音》中国女大学生上法院告雇主“只招男生” http://www.voachinese.com/content/employment-discrimination-china-20140914/2449200.html

will be a speaker at the Forum. Programme – Sixth EU Asia Top Economist Round Table.pdf

The start of the show is Mr. Jha, a prominent journalist/public intellectual from India. It’ll be introduced by his brilliant writer daughter Radhkia and moderated by me. Come along if you can! Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger Soft Skull Press, UK Prem Shankar JHA will talk about his book. Will India or will China succeed in… Continue reading I’ll be moderating an event at bookworm on tuesday Nov. 18

Shaun Rein, the founder and managing director of China Market Research Group, is an engaging and eloquent speaker. We were speakers at quite a few events together. I’ve been to his talks and was always impressed by his confidence – obviously he knows his stuff. Armed with a master degree from Harvard University and flawless… Continue reading My review of The End of Copycat China

Main menu Reporting & Opinion Conversation Library Multimedia Topics Contributors Search form Search Reporting & Opinion Features No Women Need Apply Chinese Women Fight to End Workplace Discrimination LIJIA ZHANG 11.06.14 (IISH/Stefan R. Landsberger Collections) A Party propaganda poster from 1953 titled: ‘New View in the Rural Village.’ “Applicants limited to male.” 23-year-old job-hunter Huang… Continue reading My feature piece on gender discrimination in ChinaFile