Items, which attracted wide attention, have been deleted from a draft regulation on gender equality in Shenzhen. They related to parental leave and a flexible retirement age for women.
The regulation was undergoing its third review during the 16th meeting of the standing committee of the Shenzhen People's Congress on Tuesday afternoon, according to Guangzhou Daily.
The draft, as the nation's first gender equality regulation, granted five days of parental leave for both parents of a child younger than age 3 in its first version last October and extended the leave to 10 days in its second version last December.
It also suggested a "flexible retirement age" in that female workers who are able to and want to continue working after reaching retirement age at 55 can negotiate with their employer and continue working until the retirement age of men, which is currently 60.
These widely discussed items were deleted because "they are not good for the economy", according to the report.
Chen Di, head of the legislative affairs committee of the Shenzhen People's Congress, was reported as saying that under the current economic situation adding such leave will increase the burden on businesses and it could also result in companies not wanting to hire female workers.
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