BEIJING - More than 40 percent of respondents to a survey think time off work to give birth is the top reason for employers' reluctance to hire women, according to results published on Thursday.

More than 35 percent of respondents said women are discriminated against mainly because they are believed to be unsuitable for hard work, frequent social engagements or business trips, according to the survey report carried by the People's Daily.

The other two reasons listed include the perceived tendency for women's enterprise to be blunted after marriage and the traditional belief that women are inferior to men.

A majority, or 81.4 percent, of women chose to cope with gender discrimination with silence, saying they would work harder to find the next job opportunity.

Half of the female respondents said the top reason for them to be silent is that gender discrimination is implicit in nature, which leaves them with no evidence to assert their rights. Another 22.4 percent think it is too costly to safeguard their rights.

The survey, which sampled 1,845 netizens, was conducted by People.com.cn and a Beijing-based research company.