Report: Gender pay gap narrows in China

Chinese women's monthly income is lower than men's by 22 percent as a whole, down from 30 percent in the previous year, indicating a narrower gap between the two genders in China, according to a report released by a human resource service provider.

Zhaopin.com, one of China's major online recruitment platforms, issued the report Tuesday based on a survey that collected 102,415 valid samples from 31 provincial areas in China in early 2018. Female interviewees accounted for 55.8 percent and the rest were male.

According to the report, the average monthly income for women is 6,589 yuan ($1,039), while that for men is 8,006 yuan.

The report also found that 11.5 percent of female workers believed this factor reduced their promotion opportunities compared with 1.8 percent of males.

As the country is encouraging families to have a second child, Guo Sheng, CEO of Zhaopin.com, suggested that governments should take on the majority of maternity costs, which are mostly shouldered by companies nowadays.

"Maybe the government can give companies an allowance when female workers take maternity leave," he said. "Authorities could also consider moving up the starting age for school from 3 years old to 18 months old, which can help women put their main energy into work instead of looking after their little children."