BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The overall salary of working women in China is 17 percent lower than that of men, but the income gap is rapidly narrowing, according to Thursday's China Women's News, citing the latest report on the employment status of Chinese women.

The report, jointly released by cnwomen.com.cn and a leading human resource service provider zhaopin.com, showed that the income gap between men and women has been narrowed from last year's 23 percent to 17 percent based on this year's survey data.

It attributed the narrowing gap partly to the improvement of women's educational level, noting that there are more women with a bachelor's degree or above than men among the respondents.

While 31 percent of the men surveyed work at the grassroots level in the workplace, nearly half of the women are at this level, the report said.

Many working mothers have experienced working at home amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The survey showed that working from home makes nearly 41 percent of the working mothers feel they are busier than usual, 46 percent think their work efficiency has been improved and nearly 38 percent believe working from home has made it more convenient to take care of their families.