Means of Transformation? : The Role of Enforcement Mechanisms in Providing Protection against Pregnancy Discrimination in Employment

Abstract

Pregnancy discrimination in employment, as part of gender discrimination, is still common in China. Since there is no specific national discrimination law passed in Mainland China until now, eliminating pregnancy discrimination are covered under Labour Contract Law, Employment Promotion Law etc. Accordingly, there is no specific enforcement mechanism in place to deal with discrimination issues. Pregnancy discrimination cases are included in mechanisms set out to deal with labour issues cases. In this situation, what protection can be delivered under current mechanisms? Compared with practices in other places or countries, where there are specific anti-discrimination mechanisms, what are the disadvantages of the current mechanisms in Mainland China? In order to describe and analyze this situation, this thesis presents the current anti-discrimination related legislations and the corresponding enforcement mechanisms in employment regimes in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Norway. The effectiveness and the efficiency of these legislations and enforcement mechanisms in terms of accessibility will be examined. By comparison, their strength and weakness will be discussed. Finally, this thesis will explore what experiences from Hong Kong and Norway could be adopted into the context of Mainland China.