Faced with the "three phase" job transfer and salary reduction, as well as hidden discrimination in the workplace, female employees often find themselves in a passive situation of "unwilling, afraid, and unable" to protect their rights due to concerns, difficulties in obtaining evidence, and high costs of rights protection. Explore mechanisms such as "dedicated personnel and specialized courts" and "fast trial and arbitration" in multiple places, and try to use procedural temperature and speed to solve the problem of protecting special rights and interests. Not long after joining the company, she became pregnant and was dismissed on the grounds of "not meeting the employment conditions during the probationary period". After winning the labor arbitration case and preparing to return to the company, she was dismissed during breastfeeding on the grounds of "absenteeism". The real experience of Ms. Li's two dismissals in Beijing reflects the dilemma of safeguarding the rights of female workers in the workplace. From implicit gender discrimination during job applications to the "three periods" (pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation) where women are more likely to face job transfers and salary reductions, women often bear the dual pressure of career development and childbirth in the workplace. During this year's National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the phrase 'gender discrimination in employment is more hidden' once made it to the hot search list. The protection of female workers' labor rights has once again sparked discussions among representatives and committee members, and netizens have left messages to share their experiences of encountering gender discrimination in job applications. When their rights are violated, some female employees may give up their rights due to cumbersome procedures, or fall into a dilemma of protecting their rights due to special circumstances such as physical, mental, and family reasons. In recent years, labor and personnel dispute arbitration institutions in many parts of the country have explored special work mechanisms such as "specialized courts" and "fast trial and arbitration" to protect the rights and interests of female workers, bringing new ideas to solve the problem of protecting the special rights and interests of female workers. Ms. Qi, who works in Beijing and has many concerns, difficulty in obtaining evidence, and high costs of protecting her rights, has also experienced the dilemma of balancing work family and workplace rights protection. At the end of 2024, Ms. Qi's father-in-law was critically ill, and her mother-in-law returned to her hometown to take care of her children. Her children, who were less than 1 year old, had no one to take care of them, so she had to ask for leave. Ms. Qi submitted a personal leave application in the company system and uploaded two documents: her father-in-law's "Notice of Critical Illness" and her daughter's "Medical Certificate of Birth". But the company did not grant leave. In the following days, Ms. Qi submitted another request for leave, but it was still not approved. So she took a vacation on her own. Three days later, the company sent a "Notice of Termination of Employment Contract": Qi was absent from work for three consecutive days from January 2nd to 6th, and the company decided to terminate the employment relationship with him. Ms. Qi believes that she has already submitted a leave application with reasonable reasons, and it is unreasonable for the company to terminate her employment relationship on the grounds of absenteeism. She has gathered the courage to apply for labor arbitration. In recent years, China has continued to promote policies related to childbirth support and actively responded to the demands of female workers in terms of equal employment and salary treatment. However, in reality, the phenomenon of damaging the legitimate rights and interests of female employees still occurs from time to time. Not stating 'male only' during recruitment, but being asked during the interview if there are any plans for marriage and childbirth in the near future; Under equal conditions, male employees are given priority in recruitment... A journalist searched a certain social platform and found that the rights and interests of female employees in the workplace have been violated in various forms, such as gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Through methods such as demotion, salary reduction, or being transferred to marginal positions, female employees in the "third phase" are indirectly forced to resign. These behaviors not only affect women's career development, but also cause physical and mental harm to them. In the process of safeguarding their rights, female workers generally face practical difficulties such as multiple concerns, difficulty in obtaining evidence, and high costs of safeguarding their rights. Especially during the 'third phase', the 'difficult to say secrets' make it easier for them to fall into a passive situation of' unwilling to safeguard their rights, afraid to safeguard their rights, and unable to safeguard their rights'. ”Si Lin, Vice President of the Dongcheng District Labor Dispute Arbitration Institute in Beijing, introduced to reporters. In Ms. Qi's case, the arbitration commission believes that Ms. Qi's request for leave to take care of her under one year old child is not only a natural occurrence, but also a manifestation of her legal obligation as a mother to support her. In this situation, if the company does not approve the vacation, the personal leave system will be meaningless. The arbitration commission supported Ms. Qi's request and demanded that the company pay compensation of over 40000 yuan for the illegal termination of the labor relationship. Silin told reporters that in practice, female workers often face three "hidden thresholds" in safeguarding their rights: first, during the "three phases" period, they may encounter job transfers, salary reductions, or disguised dismissals, but they are worried about "winning the lawsuit and losing their jobs"; Secondly, in cases of workplace sexual harassment, it is difficult to provide evidence, and victims often fall into the dilemma of "speaking without evidence" due to a lack of witnesses and evidence; Thirdly, some small and micro enterprises have inadequate rules and regulations, and the "soft rights" of female employees such as vacation rights and health protection are ignored but have no way to file complaints. In order to break through these "thresholds" and overcome the passive situation of female workers unwilling, afraid, and unable to protect their rights, the Dongcheng District Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Institute has established a Women's Rights Dispute Adjudication Tribunal, exploring the use of a dedicated panel to safeguard the rights of female workers. The staff of the trial court are all female, and in their work, they can bridge the gap through empathy based on the same gender, similar age, and similar experiences, reducing the fear and concerns of female employees and better resolving disputes. ”Silin said that the trial court provides services such as door-to-door delivery, online services, in court arbitration, and mobile arbitration courts, which not only handle cases fairly and efficiently, but also protect the mental health of female employees. In the view of Associate Professor Ban Xiaohui from the Law School of Wuhan University, labor disputes involving the protection of special rights and interests of female employees have strong uniqueness. "Adopting a specialized court approach can help improve the professionalism and pertinence of case handling, promote the accurate application of relevant rules, and also help reduce the burden of female employees' rights protection, promote employers to regulate employment in accordance with the law, and promote harmonious and stable labor relations." Si Lin introduced that after receiving Ms. Qi's arbitration application, the Women's Rights Dispute Adjudication Court specially arranged for female staff to communicate with her. During the trial, due to the need for Ms. Qi to verify and present the original carrier or document on site, the trial court also arranged staff to help her take care of the children and calm her emotions to ensure the normal progress of the trial procedure. Fast "is also an advantage of the Women's Rights Dispute Adjudication Tribunal. The Women's Rights Dispute Adjudication Tribunal is capable of filing cases on the same day, completing court scheduling the next day, holding hearings around 15 days, and closing cases within 30 days. ”Silin said that cases heard in the Women's Rights Dispute Tribunal can save a lot of time compared to ordinary cases. It is particularly important to have flexible forms of specialized rights protection mechanisms to better protect the rights and interests of female workers in the context of accelerating the construction of a fertility friendly society. Reporters have found that some places have also conducted innovative explorations around specialized courts for women workers' rights protection. For example, Shuangyashan City in Heilongjiang Province has established a "Women's Rights Arbitration Tribunal" in an arbitration institution, and the Women's Federation of the city has set up a "Women's Labor Dispute Mediation Room" to quickly resolve labor disputes for female workers through the connection between the "Tribunal and Room". Zibo City in Shandong Province has established a dedicated consultation and reception area for female workers' rights protection, a Xinyuan Mediation Studio, and a specialized arbitration tribunal for female workers, providing guarantees for efficient and professional handling of labor dispute cases involving female workers. The practice in these places shows that the specialized handling mechanism for female workers' rights protection can be implemented. ”Ban Xiaohui stated that on the basis of existing exploration, two mechanisms can be further implemented. Firstly, for highly sensitive cases such as workplace sexual harassment, stable communication channels can be established with trade unions, women's federations, and other organizations under the premise of legal confidentiality and respect for the wishes of the parties involved. Professional forces such as psychological support can be introduced for communication assistance and emotional support to improve the smoothness of mediation and court proceedings; Secondly, for high-frequency cases such as "three phase" protection, job transfer and salary reduction, dismissal, etc., the points of contention and evidence elements can be regularly sorted out, and case analysis reports or typical key points can be formed and publicly released. This not only provides operational compliance guidance for employers, but also provides clear rights protection paths for workers. The practice of having dedicated personnel and courts press the "accelerator button" for female workers to protect their rights. So, how can this practice be better promoted? Ban Xiaohui believes that the specialized handling mechanism for disputes over the rights and interests of female employees can enhance the effectiveness of special rights protection and to some extent guide employers to standardize employment, which has promotional value. However, he also said that flexible forms such as special courts, special posts and workstations should be adopted in combination with the number of cases in the region, staffing and case handling basis, rather than a simple and unified model. The reporter learned that currently, some places are also combining local conditions to strengthen cooperation between the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Women's Federation, Trade Union and other departments, and adopting various forms such as establishing female workers' rights protection workstations and opening "green channels" for rights protection, in order to build a solid network of rights protection for female workers. (New Society)