"The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) stated explicitly China's adherence to the basic national policy of equality between men and women, which was an important milestone in the development history of women," Song Xiuyan, vice director of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council and vice president and first secretary of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) said.

More and more women have participated in country's modernization campaign; women account for about 46 percent of the labor force. The female delegates to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and 2013 NPC & CPPCC Sessions are respectively 23 percent, 23.4 percent and 17.8 percent. Women's' level of education, health and life quality has improved a lot.

Responding to the question of how to carry out the policy of equality between men and women, Song addressed four measures.

A first one includes perfecting the mechanism. The key is to consider gender in decision-making and consider gender in making laws and policies. Additionally, when the goverment allocates resources, it should analyze the demands and benefits of both men and women in order to provide a solid guarantee to equality of men and women at the source.

A second measure focuses on implementing the outlines. Since the 1990s, China had implemented two women's development outlines. In 2011, the State Council promulgated the "Outline of the Chinese woman's development (2011 - 2020)." It has set up goals and measures for women in seven aspects, including health, education, economy, decision-making and management, social security, environment and legal. Implementing these well will have significant meaning in improving women's social status.

On a third note, Song talked about solving practical problems. In recent years, China issued many measures to support women, including medical screenings for rural women to detect cervical and breast cancer, and solving difficulties and problems for poor and left-behind women.

A final measure aims to increase people's awareness of gender equality. The nation has to fully use various forms and channels to enhance people's awareness on the policy of equality between men and women.

The All-China Women's Federation, the organization which represents the interests of women, has its unique advantages, Song said. "The federation will understand women's urgent needs and report them to the government through cultivating primary organizations and staff, as well as using the 12338 hotline in order to help them solve the most immediate and urgent problems as well as to ensure women enjoy the rights and interests endowed by law.

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