Chinese Women: Holding Up the Sky or a Glass Ceiling?
By Vishwesh Sundar, Member, YMC3S and Intern, C3S.
Mao is famously quoted for his phrase “women hold up half the sky” or in other words, half of the workforce. He considered women comrades as an asset for his country. In addition, feminism in China was a result of ‘state policy’ rather than activism from various feminist groups, as in western societies[i]. However, the notions of feminism have constantly been changing and evolving through the years in China. This article wishes to highlight the changing role of women in Chinese society during Mao’s era and post that period (especially 1990’s and 2000’s). Light will be thrown on the gender compositions in the workplace and the changing identity of women in China.
Employment of women in China:
The biggest criticism of feminists in China is the fact that out “of the 25 members of the Politburo, the second-highest body, there is now one woman, down from two. The party’s 204-person Central Committee is once again graced by 10 women.”[ii] The participation of women even at the lower rungs of the party is very low and gets slimmer with every stage in the Party ladder. Unfortunately, this is not only a characteristic feature of the Communist Party, but the gender gap in employment is also reflected in the society, in general. The table below[iii] (Gender-specific employment rates for China’s rural and urban areas in selected years, in %) shows two interesting facts. For comparison, the paper shall analyze the figures given for 1982 (a few years post Mao’s era) and that of 2000 (when the effects of globalization could be witnessed throughout the world). There is a gap between employment rates for men and women, which is a characteristic of most economies, but this has remained about the same in 20 years. However, differences in the urban areas are widening, while the differences are closing in the rural areas. In other words, the globalised, urbanized and modern parts of China are becoming more discriminatory against women employment than the rural, agrarian parts of the country. This holds true even for the census conducted in 2010. Labor participation of China’s urban women fell to 60.8% , while that of rural women fell to 82%.[iv] (Note: The census data of China is in Chinese language and thus only secondary sources were referred to for the data. The census in China, like India, is also conducted once in 10 years. Hence the latest data available currently is for 2010.). Thus, with increasing privatization, the reach of state policy to support gender equality are waning and the effects of glass ceiling in the profit-oriented private sector are kicking in. This asymmetry in earnings between the males and females (both in terms of employment and earnings) is also accompanied by “domestic violence and sexual harassment in the workplace”[v].
Evolution of identity of Chinese women:
These economic and social factors have also impacted the identity of Chinese women over the years. During the Cultural Revolution period, the images of ‘Iron Girl’ shaped the perceptions about women in the Chinese society. Notions of ‘gendered division of labour’ were challenged and women were also participants in the iron and steel industries and construction[vi], which are generally reserved for men due to physical effort involved in the industries. Images like the one above were commonly promoted during this period. Strength and productivity of women defined the beauty of a woman and women also felt a sense of patriotism by contributing to the state and for the common welfare of all.
In contrast, contemporary China shows a bleak reality. The Chinese society has a preference for male children, akin to that of India. Education for women was neglected and female infanticide was practiced. The sex ratio was unbalanced even before the one-child policy was introduced in China in 1979 and today there are 33.5 million missing women[vii]. In other words, the country’s sex ratio is extremely skewed towards men. On the other hand, Chinese women are making significant strides especially in business, among other fields. Yang Huiyan is one such woman who battled all odds and is now the world’s fifth richest women[viii].
Today, the identity of women in China has taken a shift. With the rise of cosmetics and consumerism, the notions of beauty have also changed. “Numerous books and magazines have begun to stress “nu ren wei,” which can be literally translated as the taste of womanliness and that stresses gender differences and femininity”[ix]. The pictures of Iron Girl women are today replaced by ‘Oriental Beauties’ (Li, 2008), as shown in the picture below.
However, this must not be looked at in a completely negative light. While the Mao era saw women who felt a sense of pride through their contributions to the society, women in today’s China feel a sense of privilege by the ability to remain independent and support themselves economically. The one-child policy, albeit recently modified, has also ensured that the single child, whether male or female, get access to education thereby enabling higher incomes and better professional prospects.
In conclusion, we can argue that the definition and means of women empowerment has changed in China. While in Mao’s era women empowerment was achieved through contributions to the society, in the contemporary times women’s empowerment is achieved through the sense of economic freedom and independence experienced by women. However, the biggest cause of worry is the enlarging gaps in access to employment and disparity in wages, which has to be addressed by the Chinese government. The economic miracles of China cannot be sustained without women truly holding up half the sky.
References
[i] HU, A. C. (2016, August 22). Half the Sky, But Not Yet Equal. Retrieved March 6, 2018, from http://hir.harvard.edu/article/?a=13799
[ii] Rauhala, E. (2017, October 25). Xi Jinping and six other men will rule China, but women are left behind. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/10/25/chinese-women-sidelined-as-xi-takes-center-stage/?utm_term=.596a7c36eec7
[iii] World Bank. (2006, October). Gender Gaps in China: Facts and Figures. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPREGTOPGENDER/Resources/Gender-Gaps-Figures&Facts.pdf
[iv] National Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Women and Men in China- Facts and Figures 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from http://www.unicef.cn/en/uploadfile/2014/0109/20140109030938887.pdf
[v] HU, A. C. (2016, August 22). Half the Sky, But Not Yet Equal. Retrieved March 6, 2018, from http://hir.harvard.edu/article/?a=13799
[vi] Yihong, J. (November, 2006). Rethinking the ‘Iron Girls’: Gender and Labour during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (K. E. Manning & L. Chu, Trans.). Gender & History, 18(3), 613–634. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.leidenuniv.nl:2048/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0424.2006.00458.x/epdf
[vii] Koetse, M. (2017, January 23). China Now Has 33,5 Million More Men Than Women. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.whatsonweibo.com/china-now-335-million-men-women/
[viii] Kuo, F. (2018, March 9). China celebrates women’s achievements on International Women’s Day. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://america.cgtn.com/2018/03/08/china-celebrates-womens-achievements-on-international-womens-day
[ix] Li, H. (2008, September 12). From Iron Girls to Oriental Beauties. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from http://thechinabeat.blogspot.nl/2008/12/from-iron-girls-to-oriental-beauties.html
