A class of their own

Wan completed her undergraduate software engineering degree in Xiamen University in Fujian province and finished her master's at Tsinghua.

She works as a Microsoft program manager. The job requires extensive software knowledge, but she doesn't have to do certain programming tasks.

"Many of my women undergrad classmates went into other fields immediately after graduation," she says.

"Some studied finance and some became civil servants. Many completed double majors because we believe software engineering requires too much pressure and is too exhausting for women," she says over the phone after finishing her shift at 10:30 pm.

China Software Industry Association secretary Qiu Qinlun says job security is another concern.

"Software engineering requires constant learning," he says. "Otherwise, you'll fall behind."

He believes this is challenging for women, who have other obligations as wives and mothers.

"It's difficult for them to take sabbaticals - even maternity leave."

Employers often share that outlook.

When Wan and her classmates applied for jobs earlier this year, the women didn't even get to the interview stage, she says.

"Nobody says it's because we're women," she says. "But I think it's somewhat related."

Contact the writer at zhangyue@chinadaily.com.cn.