Here's what you said are the challenges facing women in Beijing

Work, safety, dating, relationships and baijiu – it's not so easy out there

In January, we asked readers to anonymously share their thoughts and feelings about life in Beijing for the Women's City Living Survey. As well as whole bunch of profile and the strongly agree/disagree sort of questions, we also asked a series of open-enders, and are featuring a selection of your responses to some of the heaviest hitters. First up: 'What do you feel is the biggest challenge to being a woman in Beijing?'

The following responses have been edited for spelling, grammar and clarity, and we've roughly categorised them below. The views and opinions expressed in the quotes are the respondents' views and opinions, and they do not necessarily reflect the views of Time Out Beijing.

Health, safety and lifestyle

'Seeking good medical care.'

'Getting tampons.'

'Dry skin.'

'The sound of men hacking up on the street and blowing snot rockets.'

'Living costs are too high.'

'Fighting depression amongst a group of friends.'

'Having to balance your career with your pregnancy schedule. Raising a kid in this city is very tough – and I haven't even done it yet.'

'Housing prices.'

'Sexual harassment in the subway was my biggest concern.'

Dating and relationships

For those playing the dating game and looking for love in Beijing, the survey's results made pretty tough reading, with the scene widely bemoaned by respondents, and perhaps best summed up by one woman who deemed it to also be the biggest challenge facing women in the city: 'Tragic dating scene for expat women.’

'Beijing rules but I’m currently just working on cultivating my female friendships and nurturing myself and my interests because I don’t have the time to deal with all these expat f**kboys.'

'As an expat woman, Chinese men just think I want sex and lots of it.'

'Paying for a Chinese man's dinner.'

'Can't find a nice guy.'

'Can't find a girlfriend.'

Fortunately, respondents largely felt that making friends was an easier task than finding The One (or at least Someone), but it wasn't a universal hooray, with several women lamenting the fast, transient nature of Beijing friendships as the biggest challenge: 'Connecting to a good community. There are a lot of amazing communities out there, but taking the first steps can be quite overwhelming.'

'Making Chinese friends.'

Sexism and discrimination

'You have to be independent but you can't be too independent'

'Assumptions that all women should be married with children in line with Chinese convention, and [people being] surprised if you’re anything other.'

'Essentially the same as in most other cities – not having as strong a say as a man.'

'The biggest challenge isn't being a woman in Beijing, it's about being a non-Chinese Asian woman in Beijing.'

'Macho culture.'

'Mansplaining.'

'As a Beijinger who spent 10 years overseas, I really don't like the forced group thinking of how a certain age group of women should behave or carry themselves. Women in Beijing are, compared to Paris, NYC, and Singapore, more family-centric (married or not) and less focused on building friendship or cultivating interests that turn into hobbies.'

'Demands on appearance are too high.'

Work life

'My biggest challenge is working for sexist pricks.'

'Women in general get very little chance to be promoted.'

'Older men in business settings are used to seeing women as secretaries or other low-level professions, so may prefer doing business with an older white man over you.'

'Being trusted in business.'

'Sexism in hiring practices and workplace - as a married woman without a child that’s a red flag for potential employers as they’re convinced I will get pregnant soon.'

No particular challenges

'There isn't really much more challenge than a man would have gone through.'

'I wouldn't say being a woman has any specific challenges (outside of dating, of course). Finding bras perhaps? Chinese shops rarely carry my size.'

'Being in Beijing, health concerns and all that. Being a woman doesn’t have much to do with it.'

'I feel good.'

'Enjoying expat conditions, I cannot say I am facing any challenges. I can see however how life for ayis and other blue-collars is very hard, with long commutes and poor lodging, far from their family.'

'For myself personally, I don't face any particular challenges as a woman here, but I am aware of the challenges local Chinese face. For example, societal pressures in terms of getting married.'

And finally...

'No matter man or woman – traffic in Beijing drives me crazy.'

And the single biggest challenge for one reader? 'Baijiu.'

For more brutally honest comments from Beijing women, hit 'Read more'.

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