The Situation of Women in China

1
The Situation of Women in China

• Johannes Jütting and
• Theodora Xenogiani
• 27 November 2007
• Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

2
Rankings of gender equality

• China is in the middle according to rankings
  published in 2006
• UNDP Gender-related Development Index 64 (out
  of 136)
• World Economic Forum - Gender Gap Index 63 (out
  of 115)
• OECD - Social Institutions and Gender Index 66
  (out of 117)

3
Ratio of female to male adult literacy (gt15 years)
Maternal Mortality Ratio (per 100,000 live
births)
Share of women in wage employment in the
non-agricultural sector (in of total)
Women in Parliament (as of total)
Source Gender, Institutions and Development Data
Base (2007), OECD
4
Early Marriage( of girls between 15 and 19
years of age who are currently married, divorced
or widowed)
Inheritance Practices(male heirs are favoured
1)
Violence Against Women(absence of any
legislation on violence against women 1)
Womens Access to Land(land ownership is not
possible for women 1)
Source Gender, Institutions and Development Data
Base (2007), OECD
5
A comparison with India
US

China literacy ()
China GDP (US)
India literacy ()
India GDP ()
6
Challenges Concerns in China

• Patriarchal traditions persist in many spheres of
  the Chinese society.
• Feminization of poverty, in both rural and urban
  areas.
• Inequality in the labour market (income gaps,
  hiring/firing, women are obliged to retire
  earlier than men).

7
Challenges Concerns in China

• Female primary enrolment rates have increased,
  but female higher education rates lag behind.
• The political participation of women is low,
  particularly at the local level.
• Abnormal sex ratios preference for male
  offspring.

8
Looking ahead

• Reforms of legal structures- Monitoring systems
  to ensure that changes take place
• Empowerment of women- More participation of
  women in decision-making on community level
  (example quota in India)
• Encourage sex-disaggregated data collection
• Research should better analyse the role of social
  institutions, so that policies can address them
  more effectively

9
China and Social Institutions

• Assessment of the role of social institutions
  in China and their impact on gender equality
• Determining the impact of change on social
  institutions
• Estimating the economic impact of improving
  gender equality
• Formulate policies to improve gender equality in
  China

10
Thank you!
For more information www.oecd.org/dev/gender