BEIJING - A marked improvement has been seen in gender equality in marriages and families in China over the past 20 years, said a white paper issued Tuesday.

It has become the norm for husbands and wives to make family decisions jointly, and that more than 70 percent of women have taken part in making major family decisions, the white paper on China's gender equality and women's development cited a recent survey as saying.

More and more women can share family resources on an equal basis with men, and the concept of men and women sharing housework is now accepted, with the housework time gap between men and women shortened from 150 minutes 10 years ago to 74 minutes now, according to the white paper.

China attaches great importance to creating a social and cultural environment conducive to boosting gender equality; through building a healthy and safe natural environment and fostering equal and harmonious family traditions, sound conditions have been created for women's development, it said.

Women are playing an increasingly prominent unique role in the fostering of social culture, protection of the ecological environment and family management, the report said.