Women Empowerment in China

Women Empowerment in China – Notable Statistics

China has had rules to protect women’s rights since 1954, especially through the Women’s Rights and Interests Protection Law. This law got updated in January 2023 with new parts to keep women safe and treated fairly at work. Now, bosses can’t say no to women getting better jobs just because they’re married, pregnant, or have kids. The updated law also says no to bad behavior like sexual harassment at work. Bosses have to make rules against it and have ways to deal with complaints about it. These changes make workplaces in China safer and fairer for women.

Gender Equality

Since 1954, China’s Constitution has promised that men and women are treated equally.
Women make up half of the population lifted out of poverty and over 40% of the working people.
In 2018, almost all boys and girls went to primary school, and nearly half of the students who finished higher education were women.
Maternal deaths decreased a lot from 89 per 100,000 births in 1990 to 16.9 per 100,000 births in 2020.
Even though there’s been progress, violence against women, bad traditions, and unfair treatment based on gender still happen.
UNFPA, CPDRC, and CPA organized a meeting in Beijing for World Population Day.
Over 100 experts from different countries attended.
The theme was “Unlocking the strength of women in the changing population of China.”
The meeting shared information about treating men and women equally and improving women’s lives.
It asked for investment in treating men and women equally to help women in China.
Ms. Ovesen, Deputy Representative of UNFPA in China, talked about how important it is to make women stronger.
Mr. Yang Jinrui, Deputy Director-General of the National Health Commission of China, talked about China’s promise to make women stronger.
China made over 100 laws to protect women’s rights and offers services tailored for them.
China offers free healthcare to pregnant women and almost stopped boys getting more education than girls.
China wants more women to work in science, technology, engineering, and math.
But even though China is doing better, women still have trouble balancing work and home life.
Women mostly take care of the home, while men don’t as much.
China needs to work harder to make things fair for women and men at home.
This is really important for making a fair and equal society.

Voting Rights

In rural China, more than 80% of eligible adults officially vote in village elections, but there’s a big difference between men and women.
When people mark their own ballots, only 60% of women vote, while nearly 90% of men do.
This big difference shows that women face challenges like less education, lower ability to read and write, and traditional gender beliefs that discourage them from voting.
Women might not know they have the right to vote, so training programs could help by teaching them about voting rights, the process, and encouraging them to vote.
A study looked at how training programs affected women’s voting in villages in Fujian and Liaoning provinces in China.
It found that offering training to women and village leaders, or just to women, increased women’s knowledge and participation in voting.
China’s constitution gives women the right to vote, but it wasn’t put into practice until 1947.
The 1949 constitution of the People’s Republic of China says women should have equal rights in all aspects of life, including politics, economics, culture, education, and social life.

Labour Rights

Despite many women working, society still believes they should prioritize being wives over working.
The term “leftover women” is used for unmarried, educated women over 27, possibly encouraged by the government to help with the aging population and boost the economy.
Changes like allowing more than one child per family might lead to employers discriminating against women who might take maternity leave or quit due to family reasons.
A survey found that 56% of women thought having a second child would hurt their job.
More money in households means some women don’t have to work, but childcare is too expensive for many families, so older women, often grandmothers, have to quit work to take care of kids.
Violence against women, including at home (DV), is common in China and affects how much women can work.
A new law on domestic violence tries to help, but it doesn’t talk about sexual violence at home or violence at work.
A survey found that 13% of people had violence at home in the last year, and half of them also had violence at work.
More than half of people saw violence happening to others, and many victims kept getting hurt at work.
Bosses often don’t know much about laws on domestic violence and are scared to try to help.
Ideas about what makes a “real man” lead to more violence, with many men thinking they have to be tough and support using violence to look good.
People hurt by violence feel bad about themselves and worry they’re making their families look bad.

Supporting The Rights of Women and Girls

China Anti-Domestic Violence Law (2016).A law made in 2016 to stop violence at home, especially against women.
UNFPA works to make sure this law works by helping different groups work together and sharing good ideas that match global goals.
They also help make health guidelines and ways to help people who have faced violence.
Many people prefer sons, and with new technology and fewer babies being born, more baby boys are being chosen before they’re born.
This makes the number of boys born much higher than girls.
This causes problems like fewer girls to marry, unfair treatment of women, and breaking their rights.
They want to change people’s minds to prefer boys and girls equally, based on good evidence.
They also help countries share ideas and work together to stop this problem around the world, especially in similar countries.