China's women are redefining gender roles in workplaces

In China, female employees made up 43.1 percent of the country's workforce and one-quarter of the country's entrepreneurs in 2016, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Luo Xiaomei, 47, who worked on Du's construction site, was maneuvering a lift carefully inside a 22-story building.

"The lifts are used to transport workers and construction materials. During the busiest hours, I have to finish more than 10 such trips a day," Luo says.

Six out of eight lift operators on the construction site were women. "Women tend to be more careful, patient and focused, and such characteristics make them perfectly suited for the job," Du explains.

Nowadays, more Chinese women are bucking conventional gender stereotypes and pursuing their careers in once male-dominated industries. Diversified employment opportunities on offer have created a perfect stage for them to show their strength.

In Dongxiang autonomous county, Gansu's Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture, a vocational and technical school provides free training programs, under the auspices of the local government, to help female residents seek new jobs.

"More young women are now opting to take training courses for electricians and excavators rather than courses focused on embroidery, makeup and hairdressing," says Tuo Fengying, headmaster of the school.

Han Linlin, 21, was the first female student in the school's excavator training program.

"Excavator drivers are often well paid and it is both cool and challenging for me to operate such a bulky machine," Han states, offering her reason for choosing the training course.

A topic on "How does it feel for a woman to work in a traditionally male-dominated industry?" is among the most-discussed on Zhihu, the Quora-like knowledge-sharing platform.

"It is now an era where women can achieve success via their own endeavor. When facing tests and difficulties, what really matters is one's wisdom and execution, instead of gender," writes one user, nicknamed "He Jing is back", in the comments.

Such great changes in the workplace reflect the comprehensive upgrade of Chinese women's abilities and the realization of their potential, a testament to the progress in the country's efforts made to safeguard the female population's rights and interests, according to Niu Fang, associate professor with the School of Philosophy and Sociology at Lanzhou University.