Gender Imbalance and Urban “Leftover Women”

Wang Huachun,Chen Jianfang,Zhao Lu,Zhou Yue

doi:10.4236/chnstd.2015.44018

Abstract

Gender imbalance has already become a serious social problem in China. Meanwhile, a different mismatch of single men and women of marriageable age is present in large and mid-sized cities. Urban “leftover women” is categorized into “active” and “passive” types. Factors resulting in the two types are different, including level of education, concepts of love and marriage, age, types of occupation and so on. To solve the urban “leftover women” phenomenon, both government and society should take countermeasures and single person is encouraged to change standards for selecting a mate.

Highlights

Since China enacted the planned birth policy, the male-to-female birth ratio has been constantly imbalanced
The current gender imbalance has already resulted in serious problems: the number of unmarried men of marriageable age in rural areas increased from 14.68 million in 2000 to 22.07 million in 2010
It is estimated that by 2020 at least 30 million men of marriageable age will be unable to find marriage partners. This means that, on average, one out of five men will be unable to find a mate, a problem that is pronounced in rural areas (The Lancet, 2011)

Summary

Introduction

Since China enacted the planned birth policy, the male-to-female birth ratio has been constantly imbalanced. The current gender imbalance has already resulted in serious problems: the number of unmarried men of marriageable age in rural areas increased from 14.68 million in 2000 to 22.07 million in 2010. If this trend persists, it is estimated that by 2020 at least 30 million men of marriageable age will be unable to find marriage partners. The number of single women is far higher than that of marriageable age men, giving rise to the increasingly serious phenomenon of “leftover women”, labeled as “sheng nü” (it is 剩女 in Chinese), which usually refers to single, highly educated females in their late 20’s and 30’s with high income and stable careers. An urgent need exists to analyze and resolve the problem of the urban “leftover women” phenomenon (Xu Xing, 2011)

The Category of “Leftover Women”

Findings

Recommended Measures