Recruiting in China

Male graduates get preferential treatment in their hunt for jobs, with a full nine percentage points more male university seniors having landed positions than their female counterparts as of the end of February.

A survey released by MyCOS HR Digital Information Co Ltd, a human resources consulting company in Beijing, shows that 30 percent of male university seniors set to graduate in July have found a job, while only 21 percent of female students have done so.

The survey also indicates that among the male students with offers of employment, 31 percent were hired by State-owned enterprises - traditionally the biggest employer of university graduates by far. Only 17 percent of the females were offered jobs at such companies.

In addition, female graduates in the sectors of transportation and logistics were offered 523 yuan less per month. Female majors in information technology and telecommunications were offered 420 yuan less than male students.

Li Xing, a former human resources employee in charge of recruitment at a State-owned real estate development company in Beijing told METRO that males are given hiring preference - 70 percent of the company's staff is male.

"We only considered women for the positions such as secretaries," Li said.

"Females are never considered for other positions, including construction supervisors, even though some of the female applicants were equally excellent as male counterparts."

He also admitted there was a small income gap between male and female employees doing the same job, but said it wasn't significant.

Wang Junjie, a consulting manager with the Beijing office of Towers Watson, a US-based human resources consultation, attributed the unpopularity of females in some workplaces to the nature of certain jobs.

Wang said male graduates are preferred in industries such as transportation and mining because overtime and frequent business trips are often required.

Male workers don't take maternity leave, he noted.

Furthermore, some companies may bear extra expenses if they hire female employees, according to Wang.

For example, if a real estate company hires a female quality control supervisor and she goes on a business trip with a male colleague, the company must pay for two rooms instead of one for their accommodation.