Nearly 1,500 people gathered at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday to celebrate the 98th anniversary of International Women's Day that falls on March 8 each year.

Addressing the reception, Gu Xiulian, president of the All-China Women's Federation, said the past year witnessed fresh developments in the cause of Chinese women.

Progress has been made in women's participation in politics, economy, education, health and legal protection, she said.

China now has 347 million female employees, accounting for 45.4 percent of the people with jobs, according to Gu, who is also vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).

"The proportion of women who have jobs is rising steadily and the structure of employment is getting more reasonable," she said.

Senior Chinese officials including Vice-Chairman of the NPC standing committee Wang Zhaoguo, women representatives from various circles and foreign women diplomats and experts also attended the reception.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2008)