BEIJING — China has achieved steady improvement on social security for women over the past 70 years, according to a white paper made public on Sept 19.

The document, titled "Equality, Development and Sharing: Progress of Women's Cause in 70 Years Since New China's Founding", was released by the State Council Information Office.

The level of ensuring maternity services and rights for women has increased significantly. The number of people participating in maternity insurance reached 200 million in 2018, among which, the number of women was 89.27 million, the document said, adding that China has extended statutory maternity leave from 90 days to 98 days.

The white paper noted that the medical security system for women is fully in place in China. Multi-level medical security system has been further improved since 2012 and statistics in 2018 showed approximately 540 million women had been covered by basic medical insurance.

The level of old-age insurance for women has been significantly improved, with the number of women participating in basic old-age insurance reaching nearly 380 million in 2017, according to the white paper.

"With social security institutionalized, Chinese women have an ever-stronger sense of fulfillment, happiness and security," it said.