In this video Op-Ed, Lijia Zhang, a journalist who covers gender, calls out Chinese tech companies and the Chinese government for their egregious and sexist practices. According to a new Human Rights Watch report that analyzes tens of thousands of recent job advertisements, the government and private companies in China widely discriminate against women in job recruitment. Nearly one in five government job ads in 2018 called for “men only” or “men preferred.” Some job posts require women to have “beautiful physical features” or a “fine temperament.” Some even demand a certain height and weight. Prominent New York Stock Exchange-listed companies like Alibaba have published recruitment ads promising applicants “beautiful girls” as co-workers, labeling them “late night benefits.” While tech companies tout themselves as progressive to the rest of the world, these disturbing recruitment strategies show how deeply entrenched discrimination against women remains in China.

— The Editors