Abstract
While China’s socialist revolution has been credited with improving the status of women, gender inequality remains. Drawing on macro data, this article provides an overview of gender equality in China, focusing on labor force and political participation in the past 70 years, particularly since 1978, the onset of socioeconomic reform. Specifically, the article describes, compares, and examines the progress and challenges that women face in accessing economic opportunities and political resources. We find a more equal relationship between male and female when resources are relatively adequate, but that females are disadvantaged when resources are scarce, for example, including representation in more prestigious occupations, higher income, and political positions. These findings illustrate how inequality is maintained and reproduced, and suggest that despite China’s progressive socialist agenda, its gender revolution remains ‘stalled.’
Highlights
China’s socialist revolution has remarkably improved women’s socioeconomic status in absolute terms and relative to men—as indexed by women’s educational attainment (Li, 2016; Yang & Xie, 2013), life expectancy, labor force participation (Liu, 2018), and political participation (All China Women’s Federation [ACWF], 2019)—largely due to legal and institutional support favorable to gender equality
Rather than taking a snapshot perspective and focusing on a single indicator of gender equality, this article draws attention to various aspects in the labor market and political participation and compares the performance of men and women in the past 70 years, since the onset of the socioeconomic reform in 1978. It first describes the background of gender relationships in China, and briefly introduces data and methods used in this analysis; this is followed by a sketch of the achievements of gender equality and the analysis of challenges in the workforce
To provide an overview of gender equality in China, this article draws on macro data and, when available, survey data to compare men and women’s performance in economic and political areas
Summary
China’s socialist revolution has remarkably improved women’s socioeconomic status in absolute terms and relative to men—as indexed by women’s educational attainment (Li, 2016; Yang & Xie, 2013), life expectancy, labor force participation (Liu, 2018), and political participation (All China Women’s Federation [ACWF], 2019)—largely due to legal and institutional support favorable to gender equality. Rather than taking a snapshot perspective and focusing on a single indicator of gender equality, this article draws attention to various aspects in the labor market and political participation and compares the performance of men and women in the past 70 years, since the onset of the socioeconomic reform in 1978. It first describes the background of gender relationships in China, and briefly introduces data and methods used in this analysis; this is followed by a sketch of the achievements of gender equality and the analysis of challenges in the workforce. As the World Economic Forum (WEF, 2019) report shows, the situation of gender equality in China worsened in 2019, due to women’s lower presentation in politics in addition to the high sex ratio at birth
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
