Laboratory life: Scientists of the world speak up for equality

In some ways, it is harder to be a woman in science in China today than it was 50 years ago, before the Cultural Revolution. Then, under the socialist system, men and women were given jobs based purely on their performance, so sex ratios were relatively fair. Now that more-capitalist principles infiltrate job placement, it has become more difficult for women to find work. I benefited from the socialist system. After working on a farm for three years, I was assigned a job doing translations at Beijing's Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, because I was fluent in English. This enabled me to go to the United States and obtain a PhD in physics. On returning to the institute with my new skill set, I became a researcher.