Guests pose for a photo during a reception held ahead of the International Women's Day in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2019. (Photo:Xinhua)

More Chinese women are selling and buying hard tools made of steel, aluminum, copper and other metals,  a traditionally man dominated sector, according to data released during the Women's Day , showing a market potential as women are becoming more independent from their male counterparts.

As of March 2020, female vendors account for nearly half of all on China's e-commerce giant platform Tmall.com, and hardware metal tools and utensils are the second most popular business for Chinese female entrepreneurs, following women's clothing.

This  echoes with a rising consumption of metal tools from female buyers. Data released by Suning.com shows that in February, female buyers who purchased metal products are growing 195.1% year-on-year.

It is an illusion to say that metal tools are the domain of men as women also tend to use hardware tools in their homes, especially those who live on their own, Chen Yaya, a research fellow with Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times on Sunday.

"With the rising single population, home repair work has to be done by women themselves," she said.

Home repair items are among the most popular hard tool products sold online. A search on Tmall showed that the bestselling metal tool is a type of multi-functional wrenches which sold 3,670 units in the past month, followed by a portable metal tool box which sold 3,240 a unit. 

Sun Qian, a 27 year old woman who lives on her own in Shanghai said she has purchased a set of screwdriver to assemble and fix the furniture.

"Since I live alone and there are cases when I need to move homes. So having some hard tools is of my convenience," she told the Global Times.

The growing market behind the hard metal tools reflected a more diversified and increasingly independent lifestyle of modern Chinese women, which echoes the worldwide trend, Chen said.