Maintenance engineer Lin Chunyan checks an airplane at the Haikou Meilan International Airport in Haikou, South China's Hainan Province, March 6, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

China's Ministry of Science and Technology, along with 12 other ministries, issued detailed measures on Monday aimed at creating an environment to fully spur the vigor of innovation among women and support their development to play a bigger role in China's tech innovation and self-sufficiency. 

The measures, based on the principle of gender equality and equal access to opportunities,  include cultivating top tier female tech talent, providing support to women in tech innovation and business, improving evaluation and incentive mechanisms for women, supporting the scientific work of pregnant and nursing women, and strengthening training for women in the tech industry.

Additionally, relevant institutions should also support women to undertake science and technology projects and shall create conditions to attract more women to participate in such national projects. The young scientists program under China's major research and development projects should also be flexible on the age limit of female applicants.

Efforts will continue to strengthen monitoring and assessment on the implementation of these measures and address issues that impact professional development of women in the tech field.