Though the survey did not say so, I suspect that young, educated Chinese women, much like their American counterparts, are aware of the demands of family and career, and are trying to balance the twin obligations. In this respect, Chinese women share much in common with their American counterparts. But unlike in the US, the 40 percent Chinese women who prefer a professional career face problems that their American counterparts no longer do.

Some surveys suggest that the cultural bias against "mother's problem" remains strong in many Chinese companies, which still denies women much deserved promotions. This is less the case in multinational corporations where a different tradition and respect for women's performance ensures that they are given positions based on their ability and not gender. This is the lingering power of cultural bias against women that shapes perceptions and thus expectations.

Many a woman has started a private business after deciding not to work for big Chinese companies because of this bias. While in Hohhot, I found that a number of small- and medium-sized shops and stores were run by very talented women. Some such women have said that the government's policy of making women retire five years earlier than men makes little sense because people, in general, now live longer and many women want to and enjoy work. So women with good qualifications and necessary business acumen, and the urge to work longer, prefer starting their own business.

It is always difficult to predict which way a pattern will go, but in China's case two forces already at work are likely to improve opportunities at workplaces for women.

First, once members of the single-child generation mature and assume positions of authority, they will take measures to undermine skewed cultural convictions that force women to choose between family and career when they could jolly well choose both.

Second, changes in China's demographics will result in a shortage of talented workers - and thus will favor women who desire a professional career. The shortage of talented workers will result in employers adopting a more flexible hiring policy to recruit the best employees and, thus, remain competitive.

This process will take time and will require women to remain focused and not let men slip back into 19th century gender stereotypes that no longer make sense.

The author is a professor of anthropology at the university of Nevada, Las Vegas, and co-teaches a class on marriage and the family at Fudan University, Shanghai.