Over 1,600 delegates to take part in 12th National Women's Congress

The 12th National Women's Congress, to be held from Tuesday to Friday, will see 1,659 delegates from around China gather in Beijing, the All-China Women's Federation said on Monday.

"About 69 percent of these delegates are outstanding working professionals in areas such as farming, industry, business, technology, education and law. The ratio is up 30 percentage points compared with the 11th congress held five years ago," said Zhang Yanhong, deputy director of the federation's organization department.

The majority of the remaining 31 percent are officials working for local and regional women's federations across China.

Zhang added that this year's delegates average age was 47, one year younger than the last event's attendees.

Wang Weiguo, head of the publicity team for the congress, said at the gathering that China has made great achievements in the past five years to promote gender equality.

He highlighted progress made in eliminating obstacles in receiving education for female children and teenagers, and expanding employment market for women.

"Women contribute to 43.1 percent of the country's workforce, and 55 percent of entrepreneurs in the internet industry are female," he said.

The 12th National Women's Congress will hear and deliberate a work report by the 11th Executive Council of the federation, amend the federation's constitution and elect its new leadership, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

The congress convenes every five years. During the 11th congress held in 2013, 1,510 delegates attended the event.