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Fired After Pregnancy Announcement: Court Case Involving Pregnant Employee Sparks Online Debate

Most commenters agree she is legally right but feel the situation is unfair and doesn’t help women’s position in the workforce.

Published

8 months ago

August 28, 2024

Manya Koetse

A court case involving a Chinese woman who was fired after announcing her pregnancy shortly after her probation period has become trending on Chinese social media.

The woman, referred to as Lili (莉莉, pseudonym), began working for the company in April 2023, signing a labor contract that was set to run until July 2026, with a three-month probation period.

However, after the probation period had ended, Lili unexpectedly received a termination letter citing “failure to meet probationary standards” and “unsatisfactory performance” as reasons for her dismissal. Just days before, Lili had informed her manager that she was pregnant. Believing the termination was unfair, Lili contested the decision.

The dispute first went to a labor arbitration board, which ruled in Lili’s favor. Unsatisfied, the company then escalated the case to court. Recently, a local court in Suzhou reviewed the case and found that the termination of Lili’s contract lacked legal grounds, as the company failed to provide sufficient evidence that her work was unsatisfactory. The notice of termination was also issued after the probation period had ended.

Although the company appealed the court’s decision to reinstate Lili’s employment, a second court also rejected the appeal, upholding the original ruling.

According to Chinese labor law, employers can only terminate employees during the probation period on valid grounds, such as failing to meet job requirements. The burden of proof lies with the company. Terminating an employee after the probation period is much more challenging (see: China Briefing), and certainly cannot be done because a female worker is pregnant.

However, there is often a gap between what the law states and how it is implemented in practice.

“If you get pregnant, you will take maternity leave, then I will certainly hire others, and you will be replaced”

Since the two-child policy went into effect in 2016, pregnancy-related discrimination has become more prevalent.

In 2021, Yaqiu Wang of Human Rights Watch authored a report titled “”Take Maternity Leave and You’ll be Replaced”: China’s Two-child Policy and Workplace Gender Discrimination” (link), which found widespread discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace.

The national policy for maternity leave in China is 98 days, including a period of 15 days before the birth.

According to women surveyed by various Chinese companies and women’s groups, women in China are often demoted, sidelined, or fired after becoming pregnant. Companies use discriminatory job ads favoring men or women who have already had children, or ask prospective female employees intrusive questions about their marital and childbearing status during job interviews. Some are even forced to sign contracts promising not to get pregnant during certain periods.

One human resources staff member reportedly told a female interviewee during a job interview in September 2020: “After you get married, you don’t have the final say about whether you have a child or not..If you get pregnant, you will take maternity leave, then I will certainly hire others, and you will be replaced.”

“Being overly clever and taking advantage of the situation may benefit one person, but it ends up harming everyone else.”

Despite the existing laws designed to protect women’s rights in the workplace, companies often find ways to avoid paying for maternity leave, or they simply choose not to hire female workers at all (also read: Pregnancy Discrimination in the Workplace by Ruixin Zhang).

Pregnant employees and working mothers sometimes also face harassment in the workplace, as some companies hope to push them to resign by making their work life unbearable. In Chinese, this kind of ‘maternity harassment’ is referred to as “chuān xiǎo xié” (穿小鞋), which literally means giving someone tight shoes to wear, making them uncomfortable.

With low fertility rates and a rapidly aging population, boosting birthrates has become a priority for Chinese authorities. While experts explore ways to encourage couples to have (more) children earlier, combating pregnancy discrimination in the workplace is more critical than ever.

In recent years, it is evident that Chinese official media have increased awareness about the illegality of terminating female employees due to pregnancy.

However, Lili’s story has not garnered much sympathy on social media.

While most commenters acknowledge that the woman is legally in the right and that the company was at fault, they still feel that the situation is unfair and does not help improve the position of women in the workforce.

Lawyer Zhuang Zhiming (庄志明) mostly highlighted the viewpoint of the company, and wrote on Weibo: “For the company, hearing about the pregnancy right after the probation period can feel like a thunderbolt—it’s nothing to be happy about and might even leave them feeling deceived. While childbirth is a citizen’s right, so is the right to work, and the right to work requires mutual effort. You choose the company, and the company chooses you. If the collaboration starts off on the wrong foot, even if the employee wins the lawsuit, the company can still terminate the contract once it expires.”

Another commenter on Weibo blamed ‘Lili’ for exploiting the rules: “This is not about not not providing a good working environment for women. It’s about her as a person. Her plan was to abuse the system and get paid during her maternity leave without contributing. That’s the problem. It’s not about sympathizing with the boss either. If it happened to you, you’d understand and be reasonable about it.”

One Weibo user even shared how her father, who runs a business, has become more cautious in monitoring the behavior of female workers during their probation period to see if they might be pregnant. Instead of condemning these practices, many believe that people like Lili are to blame, as they don’t expect female employees to become pregnant within the first year of their new position.

Other commenters also blame Lili for taking this route only for her own good, as it does not help improve the position of women in the workplace at all: “‘Little schemes’ and ‘clever tricks’ [like this] will only dig more holes in the path of other women. Mutual respect is what really matters; being overly clever and taking advantage of the situation may benefit one person, but it ends up harming everyone else.”

By Manya Koetse
(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)

Hashtag / Relevant Vocabulary

◼︎ #怀孕员工试用期结束被辞公司被判违法# Huáiyùn yuángōng shìyòngqī jiéshù bèi cí gōngsī bèi pàn wéifǎ
“Pregnant Worker Fired After Probation Period, Company Ruled to be In the Wrong”

◼︎ ##女子试用期刚过宣布怀孕被解聘## Nǚzǐ shìyòngqī gāng guò xuānbù huáiyùn bèi jiěpìn
“Woman Fired After Announcing Pregnancy Right After Probation”

◼︎ 产假 Chǎn jià
Maternity leave

◼︎ 试用期 Shìyòngqī
Probationary period

◼︎ 穿小鞋 Chuān xiǎo xié
Giving someone tight shoes to wear; making things hard for someone by abusing one’s power

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Manya Koetse

Manya is the founder and editor-in-chief of What's on Weibo, offering independent analysis of social trends, online media, and digital culture in China for over a decade. Subscribe to gain access to content, including the Weibo Watch newsletter, which provides deeper insights into the China trends that matter. More about Manya at manyakoetse.com or follow on X.

1 Comment

泰丽

August 29, 2024 at 3:53 pm

What a horrible scam this company tried to play on Lili and what horrible netizens condemning her. Why assume the worst? The government wants people to have children, but are doing nothing to support them, and it’s preposterous. If the Chinese government doesn’t look out and actually start taking steps to make life more equitable for women, they’re going to see their population dropping like a stone.

Reply

China Local News

Aftermath of Suzhou Marathon’s “Pissing Gate”

Published

17 hours ago

April 24, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China – Week 17
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

It has already been over seven weeks since the Suzhou Marathon took place, but it was trending again today in light of a statement that has come out regarding a particular situation.

During the March 2nd Suzhou Marathon, which had over 25,000 participants, images and videos went viral showing how some runners stopped to take a toilet break and urinated against the main sign of the Jiangsu Suzhou Experimental Middle School (江苏省苏州实验中学).

At the time, the Suzhou Marathon soon released an official statement denouncing the “uncivilized” behavior of the runners.

Other images showed that there were portable toilets set up along the route, but even there, there were runners urinating in public.

Portable toilets along the route.

Runner urinating behind the portable toilets.

On April 24, the Chinese Athletics Association (中国田径协会, CAA), the national governing body for athletics in China, issued a statement saying that, according to the association’s disciplinary regulations, ten participants who urinated against the school sign have been banned from participating in any marathon affiliated with the CAA for the next three years, until March 1, 2028.

The Chinese Athletics Association further stated that they have decided to revoke Suzhou Marathon’s eligibility to apply for event certification in 2026.

Although most online commenters agree that the runners should be punished for their behavior, some also note that it seems “unfair” that Suzhou Marathon also cannot apply for organizing its 2026 marathon:

💬 “(..) because of the uncivilized behavior of just 10 people, Suzhou Marathon’s eligibility to apply for certification from the Chinese Athletics Association in 2026 was directly cancelled. Isn’t this kind of penalty a bit unfair to Suzhou? After all, just 20 meters away from where those people were peeing, there were many portable toilets set up.”

Just around the corner from where the runners urinated in public, there were plenty of portable toilets set up.

Where they peed against the wall, and the toilets nearby.

The punishment for the Suzhou Marathon seems to be a classic case of “killing the chicken to scare the monkey” (杀鸡儆猴): a drastic measure that sends a clear message to other marathons. Not only should they provide plenty of portable toilets, but they must also enforce measures or assign staff to ensure that another “pissing gate” doesn’t happen in the future.

By Manya Koetse with contributions by Miranda Barnes

(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)

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Featured

Do You Know Who Li Gang Is? Anti-Corruption Official Arrested for Corruption

What? Another Li Gang?!

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2025

Manya Koetse

Do you know who Li Gang is? On April 22, 2025, it is the name that is top trending on Chinese social media platforms Weibo, Douyin, and Kuaishou, following the news that Li Gang was arrested (#李刚被逮捕#) and suspected of accepting bribes.

Li Gang is the former head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office (纪检监察组) at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission (NSC). The CCDI (中央纪委) is China’s top internal Party watchdog, while the NSC (国家监委) is the anti-corruption agency at the state level. Together, they form the most powerful Party-state anti-corruption force in the country.

The 59-year-old Li Gang is — or rather, was — an experienced Party member and senior investigator who led the team at the Central Organization Department.

Of course, there is great irony in the fact that the very person whose job it was to act as an internal watchdog overseeing and investigating corruption among officials is now accused of accepting bribes himself. According to China Daily, Li associated with political fraudsters and resisted organizational investigations. He accepted banquets that compromised the impartial execution of his duties, illegally took money and goods, and abused his position for personal gain and to benefit others in various ways.

Li, born and raised in Sichuan Province, joined the Communist Party in 1986. Over the years, he held various positions, including Deputy Party Secretary of his native Dazhu County, Party Secretary of Zigong city, and Vice Governor of Sichuan Province. In 2023, he was appointed head of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office at the Central Organization Department.

Many commenters on social media call Li Gang a “traitor” or “mole” (内鬼 nèiguǐ). One Weibo blogger (@张胜军), along with one commenter (@第一球迷胖哥), wrote:

💬 “This is truly a case of breaking the law while enforcing it (执法犯法), like a thief crying ‘stop the thief’ (贼喊捉贼), and they got caught in the end.”

💬 “The case of Li Gang exposes the problem of how some officials have lost their ideals and are just hungry for power. Public opinion is calling for systematic limitations to leave less room for corruption, and to strengthen the normalization of oversight for the ‘key minority’ [the power elite].”

Besides the comments pointing out the irony of Li being caught for bribery given his position, and those calling him a disgrace to Sichuan Province, many netizens are also noting the familiarity of his name.

For many Chinese, the name Li Gang—especially in connection with power abuse—brings to mind another official associated with the famous online meme “My Dad is Li Gang.”

In October 2010, 22-year-old Li Qiming (李启铭), while driving under the influence, hit two female college students at Hebei University, killing one and seriously injuring the other. After fleeing the scene, he was arrested and infamously said: “Sue me if you dare! My dad is Li Gang!” His father, also named Li Gang, was the deputy director of the local public security bureau in Baoding.

Despite efforts by authorities to suppress the story at the time, “My Dad is Li Gang” (“我爸是李刚”) quickly went viral, becoming a nationwide meme. The phrase inspired widespread online creativity, including a contest encouraging netizens to incorporate the quote into classical Chinese poetry—drawing thousands of humorous and satirical entries.

The humor extended offline as well. Road safety signs in Guangxi read: “Dear friends, drive slowly. Your father is not Li Gang” (“朋友，开慢点, 你爸不是李刚”). Car stickers appeared with slogans like: “Don’t touch me, my dad is Li Gang” (“别碰我，我爸是李刚”).

Li Qiming was eventually sentenced to six years in prison for the accident, but the phrase “My Dad is Li Gang” lived on as a meme to expose and mock abuses of power.

The other Li Gang tearfully apologizing for his son’s actions back in 2014.

The sentence resurfaced in June 2014, when the phrase “Do you know who my dad is?” (你知道我爸是谁啊) became a trending topic on Weibo. This followed an incident during the college entrance exams in Fuxin, where a student arrived at school in a BMW and was caught cheating on his phone. When confronted by a teacher, he attacked her, shouting: “Do you know who my dad is? You still dare to check me?”

That moment also drew comparisons to the Li Gang meme. The phrase “Do you know who my dad is?” reflects the attitude of a group often labeled as fù’èr dài (富二代, “Second-Generation Rich”) and guān’èr dài (官二代, “Second-Generation Officials”)—those who believe they are untouchable due to their parents’ status. This attitude is closely tied to fraud, corruption, and power abuse—not just by the children themselves, but by their parents as well.

The current Li Gang incident brings everything together for many people, though it has also led to some confusion: “Which Li Gang is this? Is this the Li Gang from ‘My Dad is Li Gang’?” The current Li Gang is actually much higher in position than the one from 2010.

“Again, another Li Gang,” some say. “Another corrupt official.”

Although the name Li Gang itself may not be so special—many people have an uncle or neighbor with the same name—the current trending Li Gang news story now inevitably links the name with power abuse, entitlement, and corruption, but also with the idea that eventually, those who do wrong will be punished.

As of On April 7, 2025, Li has been expelled from the Communist Party and dismissed from public office. His case has now been transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution.

By Manya Koetse

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