On July 31, the 25th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress passed the Zhejiang Province Women's Rights Protection Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulation"). The Regulation consists of 9 chapters and 49 articles, and will take effect on September 1 this year. Women in science and technology are an indispensable force for high-quality development in building a demonstration zone for common prosperity and advancing provincial-level Chinese modernization.

The Regulation focuses deeply on the development of female scientific and technological talent, enhancing incentives for high-level female talent. For example, it improves the incentive mechanism for cultivating high-level female talent, allowing for an appropriate relaxation of age limits for eligible women when applying for programs such as high-level talent development plans and awards. It introduces support policies for female scientific and technological talent during pregnancy and breastfeeding, permitting a one-year extension for project acceptance for women in these periods. It also encourages research institutions, universities, and enterprises to delay the renewal assessment of female scientific and technological personnel during pregnancy and breastfeeding by one year.

Notably, given the frequent issues of infringement on women's personal rights in the online service sector, the Regulation clarifies the responsibilities of network service providers and generative artificial intelligence service providers in preventing and handling content that infringes on women's lawful rights. For instance, network service providers in areas such as e-commerce, online literature, online games, online audio and video, live streaming, and social networking must strengthen the review and management of related products and content. Generative artificial intelligence service providers should adopt measures such as optimizing algorithms to prevent the generation of content that contains gender discrimination or demeans women's dignity, thereby infringing on women's rights. If such content is found, they must promptly take measures like stopping generation, stopping transmission, and deleting the content, and make corrections through model optimization training, while reporting to the cyberspace administration and other relevant authorities.

Another highlight of the Regulation is deepening comprehensive services for family-related matters, promoting data sharing and business collaboration for women's rights protection. It strengthens the digitalization of women's rights protection work, facilitating the sharing of public data and business collaboration in this area. The "12338" women's rights protection service hotline and the "12345" government service convenience hotline will be integrated seamlessly. The Regulation also incorporates the prevention and resolution of marriage and family disputes into the grassroots social governance system, relying on social governance centers (comprehensive governance centers) to promote comprehensive services for resolving family disputes.

Furthermore, the Regulation systematically builds a rights protection system covering the entire life cycle of women, fully addressing the special needs of women at different life stages. For example, during the schooling phase, it specifies the requirements for schools, especially primary and secondary schools, to conduct education on female students' physiological health, mental health, and self-protection. During the working phase, it protects women's workplace rights, clarifying prohibitions against gender discrimination in recruitment and hiring processes. In terms of travel, it mandates the provision of public toilet facilities that meet women's needs, as well as barrier-free facilities convenient for mothers and infants. It also emphasizes attention to the psychological needs of women of different ages, strengthening the provision of mental health services for women in need.