Achievements of the China National Program for Women's Development (2011-2020) in Women's Participation in Decision-Making and Management

4. Women's Participation in Decision-Making and Management

4.1) The proportion of female deputies of the National People's Congress (NPC) and female members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) reached the highest in history. Since the implementation of the China National Program for Women's Development (2011-2020) (the NPA for Women), China has actively promoted and supported women's participation in politics. The proportion of women in decision-making and management has increased significantly, and women's political rights have been effectively safeguarded and strengthened. In 2018, the 13th session of the NPC had 742 female deputies, accounting for 24.9 percent of the total number of deputies, and 3.6 percentage points higher than the 11th session (2008). This was the NPC session with the highest proportion of female deputies in history. In the same year, the 13th session of the National Committee of the CPPCC had 440 female members, accounting for 20.4 percent of the total number of members, an increase of 2.7 percentage points since the 11th session (2008). Similarly, this was the CPPCC session with the highest proportion of female members in history.

4.2) Women's participation in business management has expanded. Since the implementation of the NPA for Women, China's economic and social development has been accelerated, societal beliefs and perceptions have been changing, and the open, transparent, and merit-based selection and appointment mechanism has continuously improved. Women are occupying an increasingly important position in business management. In 2020, the proportion of females on the boards of directors and boards of supervisors of enterprises were 34.9 percent and 38.2 percent, respectively, an increase of 2.2 and 3.0 percentage points since 2010. The proportion of female representatives in the workers' congress of enterprises was 30.2 percent, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from 2010.

4.3) Women's participation in democratic governance at the grassroots level has expanded. Since the implementation of the NPA for Women, women have actively participated in social governance at the grassroots level, and the proportions of female members in residents' committees and villagers' committees have increased. The proportion of female members in residents' committees remained at about half and reached 52.1 percent in 2020, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from 2010, achieving the "around 50 percent" target outlined in the NPA for Women. The proportion of female members in villagers' committees was 24.2 percent, an increase of 2.8 percentage points from 2010.

(Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China)