ABSTRACT
Chinese women were for a long time at the bottom of the social hierarchy and completely excluded from social and political life. In the mining industry, women were not only participating in surface work but also underground until the law of Provision for Protection of Working Women was passed in 1992, which prohibits women from working underground in mines. Women workers are seen as less reliable, less efficient, and more expensive than male workers, so gender discrimination is obvious in workers' rights in contemporary China and women's social position has even declined in some areas. The significant roles of Chinese women in society and economy have emerged in the middle of the twentieth century. Chinese women were seen to be inferior to men in the traditional society. Although women are prohibited from working underground in the pits, they are present in a significant proportion in the mining industry and contribute greatly by their diligence and intelligence.
