(ECNS) -- The average salary for Chinese women is only 77 percent that of their male colleagues, with the payment difference more obvious in small cities, according to an industry report released by Chinese recruitment website Bosszhipin.com.
Chinese female employees got an average payment of 4,449 yuan ($653.1) before tax so far this year, 22.3 percent less than male employees, the report says.
About 70 percent of Chinese employees earn 2,000 to 6,500 yuan a month. Women are concentrated in the relatively lower-income section, while men dominate the over 5000 yuan section, it was revealed.
The difference in payment is largely related to the industries and cities employees are in, which accounts for 38 percent of all factors. Another 18 percent are linked to employee education and work experience.
In 2016, four industries saw female employees paid over 30 percent less in average than male employees - including medicine, specialized testing, media and entertainment as well as IT and Internet.
The report explains that highly-paid technology-oriented industries such as medicine, specialized testing and IT hire much more male than female employees. Meanwhile, male workers also experience higher employment rates in labor-intensive industries like construction and mining.
However, there are 44 percent "unexplainable factors" causing the payment difference between male and female workers, suggesting inequality is still an issue in China, the report states.
