As a female law student, I faced sex and "regional" discrimination on my first job-hunting expedition. It was about five years ago and, at that time, males and Shanghainese were much more welcome than females when it came to finding work in the legal field in Shanghai. So as soon as I had introduced myself in standard Mandarin, the interviewers told me that they would not consider me as a candidate because they were looking for local and male graduates.

Thank God, history didn't repeat itself. I did not have such a bad experience on my later forays into job-hunting.

However, compared with the blood-type discrimination in the current job market, I seem to have been much luckier than today's crop of job seekers.

According to a recent report, a lady was required to take a blood test to find out her blood type when she applied for a position in a company. The company's theory was that a person's blood type has a strong connection with their personality. People of blood type AB or B are said to tend to be very active and impatient. Since employers are looking for patient and careful employees, applicants who have blood type AB or B must not be considered for a position.

What nonsense! Following this theory, each of us would be declared to be unqualified for some careers from the day of our birth. There would be no need for people to better themselves through learning - they would be judged only on their blood type!

Fortunately, experts have said there is no evidence proving any connection between blood type and personality.

But how did such a ridiculous situation arise? The Labour Law in this country, which came into force in 1995, tells us that every worker shall enjoy equal rights in obtaining employment and choosing an occupation. Employment of workers shall not be subject to discrimination because of nationality, race, sex or religious belief.

To take it further, how was I so openly rejected in my first job interview? And I was not alone. Most female students in my university, who were not originally from Shanghai, had a similar experience. How I escaped similar discrimination later was because I had obtained another degree overseas. But the Labour Law clearly states that women shall enjoy the same right to a job as men. In the recruitment of staff and workers, women may not be refused employment because of their sex and recruitment standards may not be raised for women, except for positions whose nature has been determined by the State as being unsuitable for women.

As I understand it, there are three main reasons for this discrimination in the job market.

First, there is no specific punishment set out for those discriminating against women. After a careful study of the Labour Law, I cannot find any specific penalties provided for anyone practising discriminatory behaviour. What is more, there is no effective way for anyone suffering discrimination to file a complaint or any mention of compensation. In other words, although it is unlawful to treat someone less favourably on the grounds of their sex or other personal status, those who violate the law will go unpunished.

The second reason is in the job market itself. As competition for jobs becomes harder in China, people tend to remain silent about any discrimination in order to get a job. This, on the one hand, encourages enterprises or institutions to make outrageous requests. As a result, I suppose there will still be very few complaints even when the law has been improved.

The last reason has to do with the employees' own beliefs about blood types and which, surprisingly, has the support of some college students. According to them, they have discovered it is easy for them to get along well with classmates of certain blood type. What a good excuse to escape personal efforts in dealing with relationships! No need to check their own behaviour, no need to face their own weaknesses and mistakes.

But the reality is that we live in a diverse society, it is entirely impossible for anyone to let the whole world follow him or her.

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