L: Tianming, last night a high school female classmate called me and said

that she was pregnant and would soon deliver. She had already quit her job and started to stay at home and be a housewife.

Z: Isnt this a good thing?

L: Whats good about it? She is a nurse and has only worked for a year. It is really unfair. Producing children is the whole societys business. Why is the whole burden on the woman?

Z: Lisa, when you put it this way, I think that it is a little unreasonable. Do you really want us men to give birth to children?

L: Who asked you to give birth to children? What I mean is, once a woman gives birth to a child, whether or not she is willing, she has to quit her job and stay at home to take care of the child. Isnt this too unfair? Why dont we ask the husband to take care of children at home?

Z: Do you really think so? Asking the woman to quit her job and stay at home of course is not good, but conversely, asking the man to stay at home to take care of the child is not necessarily fair either. We should think of a better way to solve this problem.

L: When you think of your better way, Im afraid I will already be old. Actually, there are many other phenomena of inequality between men and women, such as, doing the same type of job, womens salary tends to be lower than that of mens.

Z: Thats true.

L: Furthermore, how many women are in managerial positions in the US? The higher the position, the fewer the women, isnt this discriminating against women?

Z: What you said is reasonable. But, I think along with the development of the society, the status of women will be increasingly raised.

L: I am not as optimistic as you are.

Z: Come on, Lisa, I feel that at home, men and women are already very equal. Just take my family for example, my father and mother share the household chores and my father is also the main one educating children. Relatives and friends all say my father is a model husband.

L: I think that your brother-in-law is also very considerate to your sister.

Z: My brother-in-law is more model than my father, seeing my sister is like a mouse seeing a cat. I cant get used to the look of it.

L: This issue of gender equality is probably very hard to discuss clearly.

In history, especially from the Sung dynasty on, China became a society that slighted women. At home, before girls got married they had to obey their fathers, after marriage they had to obey their husbands and after their husbands died they had to obey their sons. At that time, marriage was totally decided by parents, in some cases it was even decided before the children were born. In some places, if a girl was not yet grown and her fiancee died, they would not allow this girl to marry someone else, they would even asked the girl who had her fiancee died to marry a wood-carved man.

Since the 50s, the situation of Chinese women has had a great change. Especially in the cities, girls and boys have the same opportunity for education; in terms of work, the same work brings the same pay; the social status of women has also had a great advancement.

But, since the Reform and Opening up to the outside world, the problem of inequality between man and women has become again prominent. For example, when being admitted to schools and finding jobs, it is much harder for female students than male students; in some factories and companies the phenomenon of same work different pay again surfaces. The number of women with high positions has obviously decreased. However, among ordinary young couples, most husbands are very considerate and take care of their wives. Therefore, perhaps the family is the place where gender equality is best manifested.