SHENZHEN: For the women of Guangdong, it would seem that tradition is king where aspirations are concerned.

Some 93.3 percent of the women polled in a recent survey said having "a happy and harmonious family" is the most important factor in a woman's life. By contrast, only 1 percent rated "having a successful career" as the key to a fulfilling life.

Three women's societies in the province, led by the Guangdong Women's Federation, conducted the survey between April 12 and June 20 last year in nine cities in this province in South China. Major metropolises like Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai were among the sample cities.

The groups' goal was to get a sense of how women in Guangdong view life and work, and, perhaps, to offer solutions to their most vexing problems.

They issued 2,000 questionnaires and received 1,775 responses. The average age of the respondents was 36, and 80.3 percent of them had spouses. Nearly 40 percent had at least a college degree.

Most of the respondents - 74.8 percent - said their biggest concern in life is "the physical and psychological health of the family." They rated the education of their children a close second.

Other leading issues included sending their children to high-quality schools, problems associated with aging and a lack of job security.

Nearly 77 percent of the respondents said they expected their family lives to improve in the future. By contrast, only 0.3 percent said they expected their lives to get worse.

A majority of the respondents about 85 percent said they were satisfied with their physical and mental conditions and with their marriages. They said they were the least satisfied with their incomes.

According to the survey, women do most of the housework in Guangdong, spending anywhere from one and half to two hours on it every day.

About 70 percent of the respondents said they would be inclined to live with elderly members of their families or their adult children in order to better take care of them.

Compared with a similar survey conducted in Beijing, women in Guangdong are more open than their counterparts in the nation's capital when it comes to matters of marriage and lifestyle.

Women in Guangdong appeared three times as likely to accept couples living together before marriage, pregnancy out of wedlock and homosexuality as women in Beijing, according to the results of the two surveys. In addition, many more women in Guangdong said they "don't care about" these issues.

(China Daily 01/04/2007 page5)