E/C.12/CHN/CO/2 Household registration system 15. While noting that the State party has taken some measures to reform the household registration system (hukou) and progressively align the situation of rural-to-urban migrant workers with that of urban residents, the Committee remains concerned that these migrant workers, particularly those who lack household registration, continue to be de facto discriminated against in the fields of employment, social security, health care and education. The Committee is deeply concerned that, reportedly, owing to the hukou system, an estimated number of 55 to 60 million children have been left behind by their parents in the rural areas (arts. 2, para.2; and 10). The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (E/C.12/1/Add.107, para. 46) and calls upon the State party to strengthen its efforts to abolish the household registration system (hukou) and to ensure that all rural-to-urban migrants are able to enjoy the work opportunities, as well as social security, housing, health and education benefits, enjoyed by residents in urban areas. The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary effective family-support measures to avoid the separation of children from their family environment and to ensure that children, particularly those from rural areas, can be raised by their parents. Equal treatment of men and women 16. The Committee regrets that, despite the legislative changes to ensure equality between men and women and the adoption of the Programme for the Development of Chinese Women (2011–2020), gender disparities persist in practice, especially in relation to employment, wages, housing and access to higher education. The Committee also notes with concern the disadvantaged position of rural women, in particular with regard to access to education, health care, employment and land tenure (arts. 3 and 7). The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Adopt effective measures to ensure the strict enforcement of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women; (b) Take concrete steps to eliminate the persistent disparities between men and women and promote full access to higher education, employment and housing; (c) Adopt all necessary measures, with specific targets and a time frame, to eliminate the persistent gender wage gap; (d) Take measures to eliminate the multiple discrimination faced by rural women, in particular in access to education, health care, employment and land tenure. Unemployment 17. The Committee regrets that the statistical data on unemployment are not currently disaggregated by ethnic origin, which limits the evaluation of the situation faced by ethnic minorities in their enjoyment of the right to work. Despite the efforts mentioned by the State party in its replies to the list of issues (E/C.12/CHN/Q/2/Add.1, para. 44), the Committee remains concerned about reports of the high rate of unemployment among persons belonging to ethnic minorities, especially Tibetans, Uighurs and Inner Mongolians, in part due to Han Chinese migration into minority areas (arts. 6 and 7). In line with its previous recommendations (E/C.12/1/Add.107, para. 67), the Committee urges the State party to strengthen its unemployment data collection system in order to enable a better assessment of the situation of ethnic minorities. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its programmes and adopt 5