So a Beijing-based woman who retired in 2005, would get a pension according to the average wage of 2004, and one who retired in 2010, would be paid at the 2009 level. Now imagine the loss the woman who retired in 2005 suffers.

"Pension is also closely related with the number of years a person puts in his/her job," Liu says. This means the longer a person works, the higher basic pension he/she gets. Women who go in for higher studies start working only in their late 20s or early 30s. Yet they have to retire five to 10 years before men, which reduces their years in service and thus increases their financial loss.

Apart from money, early retirement also deprives women, especially public servants, from participating in politics. Liu has mentioned this in a written proposal to the State Council Legislative Affairs Office and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Early retirement age deprives women of promotion, too. "And retiring five to 10 years before men, to a certain extent, compromises women's rights to further participate in State administration and public affairs."

These discrepancies are more than enough to warrant a change in retirement regulations.

Besides, many women employed in cadre-designated jobs have been forced to retire at 50 because their service records identified them as workers. Such women want the division between female cadres and female workers to be fixed, Liu says.

But women doing heavily physical work are against the idea, which is understandable given the nature of work they do. Increasing the retirement age would not be beneficial to women who are laid off midway through their career, too. Suppose a female worker is laid off at the age of 45 now, she has to pay the "social security fee" for another five years to qualify as a pensioner. But if the retirement age is raised to 60, and a female worker is laid off at 45, she has to pay the "social security fee" for another 15 years to get pension. That definitely will compound a female worker's financial problems.

Therefore, the authorities should consider the interests of women as a whole as well as the differences between female cadres and female workers, instead of making sweeping changes in regulations for female cadres and female workers. This, too, is part of Liu's proposal to the ministry and the Legislative Affairs Office.

The division between female cadres and female workers should be removed by a job-based classification. And men and women should enjoy the same working rights and both should retire at 60.

Moreover, the authorities should introduce a flexible range for retirement to serve the interest of different working groups. For instance, some groups such as public servants should be allowed to defer their retirement age till 65 if their job demands so, but they should be allowed to retire earlier, too. People doing heavy physical work should definitely be given the right to retire early. And women should have the right to decide whether to retire early or postpone their retirement. In case of manual workers and women, the decision should be free of employers' interference.