Progress and Challenges in the Development of China's Professional Women

Professional women and women of high-caliber in particular figure as an important part of China's human resources strategy and of the nation's efforts in promoting gender equality. However, hurdles remain when they want to participate actively in social events and tap into their full potential. As a result, the development of professional women in China has been forced into stagnation; and while the number of career women has indeed increased over time, the proportion of high-caliber women in positions of power has failed to swell substantially.

Equal Rights for Professional Women

China attaches importance to the progress and development of women in all walks of life and makes part of its fundamental national policy the promotion of gender equality in the process of social development.

It is indicated in the National Medium and Long-Term Plan for Human Resource Development (2010–2020), formulated and implemented half a decade ago, that the mechanism of cultivation, election and job training must be enhanced for women cadres, minority nationality cadres and cadres from non-communist parties, with a view to create a well-organized structure of multi-level and various types of human resources of both genders. It is also proposed that innovations be made by government organizations while providing service for professional individuals so as to help them maintain a balance between career and family.

The Program for the Development of Chinese Women (2000–2010) was clearly laid out so as "to provide strengthened technical-skill training to women" and "to pay close attention to the suggestions and proposals of women's federations about women's cadres and women's participation in politics."

The National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2012–2015) makes it a goal to eliminate gender discrimination in employment and to ensure the equal rights of women in accessing economic resources and participating in economic development.

A series of relevant laws and regulations have been formulated and amended as well, providing women with equal rights as men and an environment conducive to their development.

On the other hand, some legislation and regulations have somewhat impaired women's rights — legislation that includes a difference in retirement ages between men and women, arousing widespread controversy and public discussion. It is stipulated in the State Council Provisional Regulations on Retirement and Resignation of Workers that males retire at the age of 60 while women in female cadres and female workers are forced to leave their positions at as early as 55 and 50 respectively. And after a sea of changes over the past two decades, this well-intentioned regulation formulated under China's planned economy has, ultimately, adversely impacted professional women in salary, retirement pension and job promotion.

Equal Opportunity for Professional Women

The government has also strived to protect the equal opportunity of women and girls in education, employment and political participation, aiming to teach them pertinent knowledge and skills required in various jobs and services. In 2006, the enrollment rate of school-age girls exceeded that of boys for the first time, and girls in senior high school accounted for 48.98 percent of the total. Meanwhile, it has been a national policy to promote equal employment in the job market, where barriers have gradually been pulled down and women are now increasingly involved in fields previously dominated by men. Moreover, more and more women have occupied positions of management and decision-making, enjoying a much greater say in organizations, policies and regulations.

Nevertheless, not enough attention has been paid by some decision-makers and lawmakers to the problems facing women's development; and in many cases, the equal rights granted by law cannot, in practice, be transformed into real opportunities.

According to a survey on the social status of Chinese women, 21.1 percent of the over-4,000 employers in need of high-caliber personnel indicate "male-only or male-preferred" in recruitment; 32.5 percent favor male personnel in job promotions over females of equal qualifications; 48.7 percent have more men than women in promising high-tech positions; and women retire much earlier than their male counterparts in 69.3 percent of the companies and organizations. The survey also revealed that 24.7 percent of female graduates have been subjected to gender discrimination in their job search.

But discrimination isn't exclusive to individual positions. "Gender segregation" remains in some fields: Women tend to be assigned to jobs in education, culture and literature, and they take very few leading positions in the other "less-women-oriented" fields, such as economics, finance, mathematics and engineering. In terms of job training, further education and overseas studies, women have failed to get equal opportunities as men.

To improve this situation, the stereotypes of women should be changed. It has been a deep-rooted prejudice that women are competent only for ancillary tasks, and such mindsets — whether explicit or subconscious — work only to discourage and hinder women from fully tapping their potential. Also, the fact that, statistically, women have been much more occupied with household chores and child nurturing compared to men has done nothing to prevent women from being forced into disadvantageous positions at work.

Outcomes of Professional Women's Development

Thanks to concerted efforts made by Party committees at all levels, government organizations and relevant departments, women-oriented policies and the social environment for professional-women's development have undergone constant improvement. As a result, China has witnessed significant increases in the number of professional women across various fields.

Firstly, women's education has seen significant improvement. In the younger generations, women are equally or even better educated than their male counterparts. With all the efforts made, more and more women have access to higher education, and the gap between the number of women and men in educational institutions of various types at various levels has been significantly narrowed. By 2010, the number of female students in universities or academies had reached 11.351 million, accounting for 50.86 percent of the total enrolled population, while female master's and doctorate students accounted for 50.4 percent and 35.5 percent of the total, respectively.

In addition, professional women have seen an increasing contingent across various fields, with the workforce headcount gap between men and women gradually narrowed. According to the 6th nationwide census, the number of women leaders and technicians totaled 28.19 million in 2010 — an increase of 6.59 million over 2000, and much higher than the 5.71-million growth of men. Moreover, women accounted for 45.8 percent of the overall professional workforce that same year, 1.9 percent higher than their proportion the year prior, in 2009. In management and leadership positions, the proportion of women reached 25.1 percent, an increase of 8.3 percentage points over 2000. Women deputies to the 18th CPC National Congress, the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) and female members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee comprised 23, 23.4 and 17.8 percent of the total respectively, representing increases over the previous ratios. Party committees and CPPCC committees at provincial and municipal levels experienced similar growth in the proportion of women deputies and members. Female technicians totaled 20 million in 2010 — almost 10 times the total of 30 years ago — and accounted for nearly 40 percent of the total at the end of 2007.

Furthermore, women have developed enhanced competence and greater potential while the gender gap in stamina and intelligence has been bridged from a fundamental standpoint. With their great ambition, creativity, passion for career and pursuit of excellence, women have become as competent as their male colleagues. Moreover, some of them have strived and excelled to major positions in their fields, figuring as an indispensable part of China's human resources and making remarkable contributions to the overall development of the country.

From another perspective, however, some issues concerning women's development have yet to be resolved. Women still remain a comparatively negligible demographic in the working population's in high-level positions. Women cadres account for merely 13.3 and 10.4 percent in decision-making positions at the prefecture and provincial levels; female members and alternate members of the Central Committee of the 18th CPC National Congress account respectively for 4.9 and 12.3 percent of the total; and female members of the 12th NPC Standing Committee make up 15.5 percent of the total. All these proportions are much lower than the 30-percent bar set and advocated by the international community.

In the technology field, the percentage of women technicians has not only been on the decline but also decreases the higher the position, with proportions of 48.4, 45.8 and 35.4 percent at primary, intermediate and senior levels, respectively. In 2012, female scholars at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) accounted for merely 5.6 percent of the total, compared with the 6.2 percent in 1978, when the first National Conference on Science was convened. In enterprises, women occupied only 25.1 percent of the leading positions in 2010. Generally speaking, women have simply not held equal parts as men in high positions, whatever their field may be. Even in fields like education, culture, literature and medical care — generally common domains for female workers — the number of female leaders has yet to rise noticeably, and the huge gap remains to be narrowed. Not to mention, the already-limited group of women in leadership and upper-management positions do not receive proper credit for their abilities, contributions and achievements, while women in general are more restricted by social gender bias in job-hopping.

Considerations and Suggestions

Comprehensively strengthening reform was one of the major goals established at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. This goal, however, won't be achieved without the common efforts and equal participation of men and women from all walks of life. In this context, the government has improved relevant laws and regulations and has made it part of the national strategy to ensure the sound development of professional women; but even more measures are required to carry into effect these policies and nurture an environment conducive to women's development:

First, the fundamental national policy of gender equality should be reinforced in a comprehensive way. To this end, the development of professional women should be included in the National Medium and Long-Term Plan for Human Resource Development, with an eye to enhance the mechanism for nurturing, electing, promoting and appointing female cadres, increasing the proportion of women in decision-making and management positions and ultimately reaching the 30-percent goal advocated by the international community.

Gender equality should also be reinforced within the processes of recruitment, job training, promotion and retirement, so as to reduce gender discrimination and gender bias in employment and to create a fair environment for both men and women. For female college graduates, equal employment and equal opportunities should be provided, while high-caliber females should have their retirement age brought into line with that of their male counterparts.

In addition, appropriate preference should be given to women in research projects and funding, through such means as quotas and preference of women over men of the same qualifications. Also, innovations should be made to encourage the development of potential high-quality female personnel.

In addition, a comprehensive support system should be established to promote the development of professional women. A high-caliber female-personnel database, gender-specific human resources statistics and professional women's federations are all needed to promote communication and collaboration among high-caliber females. Also, efforts must be made by government branches at various levels to improve public services, so as to reduce the burden on women and help them to strike a balance between family and career.

Furthermore, social environment must be improved to ensure the healthy development of professional women. When they garner more attention and stronger publicity about their contributions and advantages, other women will be encouraged to follow their examples.

Last but not least, gender awareness should be enhanced and highlighted within the capacity of lawmakers and relevant personnel and experts. Meanwhile, a monitoring and evaluation system must be established along with gender-specific human resources statistics.

(Source: Chinese Women's Movement/Translated and edited by Women of China)