Beijing, Aug 9 (IANS) Almost 90 percent of China's provincial regions had female vice governors by 2010, an increase from 64.5 percent in 2000, an official said.

Song Xiuyan, vice chairwoman of the National Working Committee on Children and Women, said: "China has made remarkable progress in terms of political participation by women."

Women are also represented in the leadership of 89.4 percent of the country's municipal governments, an increase from 65.1 percent in 2000, Xinhua quoted Song as saying.

The proportion of female leaders at the national level rose from 59.8 percent in 2000 to 86.2 percent in 2010.

At the central level, China has a single female state councillor, Liu Yandong, as well as three vice chairwomen of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and four vice chairwomen leading the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Song said.

"We still have a lot of work to do to raise social awareness and guarantee gender equality through legal means," Song said at a press conference.

Song also discussed new measures being put into place to help women seek employment.

Micro-finance loans have been made available to help women start their own businesses. Women can obtain up to 100,000 yuan ($15,500) in low-interest loans, with the interest being borne by central and local authorities.

Twenty-six billion yuan in micro-finance loans have been provided to women so far, including a number of female college graduates, said Song.