Wang Qing is frustrated. At a job fair for Chinese college graduates, she has been repeatedly told by employers that the best jobs are reserved for men.

Two-child policy a 'burden' for job-hunting women.[File photo]

"One interviewer told me that I am qualified but declined me the job," she said. Wang, like many others, attributes this to the new two-child policy.

"With women soon to be able to have a second child, they will face more work-life balance problems. Employers just don't want to hire women," Wang, a graduate from Jilin University in northeast China, said.

At one of the largest job fairs in northeast China, more than 750 employers including public institutions and multinational companies have more than 40,000 jobs on offer.

Of the 30,000 student job hunters at the fair, women were frequently told that they are not suitable for jobs that require lots of business trips or overtime. They are most often declined by IT and technical firms.

"Exactly what positions can girls fit?" an angry female job seeker at a job enrollment booth shouted.

"As a female postgraduate, I am embarrassed by the fair. I was frequently knocked back by companies saying 'No, girls are not wanted,' or that boys were preferred without even giving girls an interview," said Liu Xinxin from the Economic Institute with Jilin University.

Wang Pei'an, spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said in October that women are likely to face increased employment difficulties and workplace prejudices as a direct result of the two-child policy.

A survey by the Women's Federation in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, found that female college graduates will get a job after an average of 8.4 interviews — 2.1 more than their male peers.

Zhong Xin, head of employment service center with the Jilin University, said it usually takes a longer job hunting period for girls than boys to get a job at their graduation, although girls' employment rate is even higher than boys because girls' general academic performances are better.

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