2.DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE Discrimination in employment is widespread and well documented in China.A study conducted in ten large cities by a team of academics from Peking University,Tsinghua and the China University of Political Science Law in 2006 indicated that about 85.5%of the 3,424 respondents interviewed thought that discrimination in the workplace exists and 58%of them thought the problem was severe.Ronald C.Brown,a professor of law and former Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer at Peking University Law School,had his attention caught by a job advertisement posted on a wall outside of the Ministry of Labor in Beijing in 1996 The add read as follows: Seeking an office clerk.Female,decent height and appearance.All five facial 1 organs must be in the right place [wu guan duan zheng]. Discrimination can also go much further than physical attributes.Apparently,in 2005,it was reported by Chinese media that some employers refused to hire qualified candidates because they were born as dogs in the Chinese astrological cycle2.Although this can be a somewhat isolated peculiar case of discrimination,it is fair to say that discrimination in work is quite common in China. 2.1.Possible grounds of discrimination Discrimination exists based on many grounds.Gender,health status,physical traits, ethnicity (residence)and religious beliefs are among the most common factors of discrimination in employment3 10 Xun Zeng,Enforcing Equal Employment Opportunities In China,9U.Pa.J.Lab.&Emp.L.991(2006-2007), at992. 1 Ronald Brown,China's Employment Discrimination Laws During Economic Transition,19 Colum.J.Asian L.361(2005-2006),at362. 12 Xun Zeng,supra note 10,at 993 Ronald Brown,supra note 11,at 362. ?4 2. DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE Discrimination in employment is widespread and well documented in China. A study conducted in ten large cities by a team of academics from Peking University, Tsinghua and the China University of Political Science & Law in 2006 indicated that about 85.5% of the 3,424 respondents interviewed thought that discrimination in the workplace exists and 58% of them thought the problem was severe10 . Ronald C. Brown, a professor of law and former Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer at Peking University Law School, had his attention caught by a job advertisement posted on a wall outside of the Ministry of Labor in Beijing in 1996. The add read as follows: Seeking an office clerk. Female, decent height and appearance. All five facial organs must be in the right place [wu guan duan zheng]. 11 Discrimination can also go much further than physical attributes. Apparently, in 2005, it was reported by Chinese media that some employers refused to hire qualified candidates because they were born as dogs in the Chinese astrological cycle12 . Although this can be a somewhat isolated peculiar case of discrimination, it is fair to say that discrimination in work is quite common in China. 2.1. Possible grounds of discrimination Discrimination exists based on many grounds. Gender, health status, physical traits, ethnicity (residence) and religious beliefs are among the most common factors of discrimination in employment13 . 10 Xun Zeng, Enforcing Equal Employment Opportunities In China, 9 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 991 (2006-2007), at 992. 11 Ronald Brown, China’s Employment Discrimination Laws During Economic Transition, 19 Colum. J. Asian L. 361 (2005-2006), at 362. 12 Xun Zeng, supra note 10, at 993. 13 Ronald Brown, supra note 11, at 362