Gender Equality and Women's Development in China

III. Women and Education

China actively promotes equality in education, adjusting the structure of education, adhering to the principle of gender equality, and working hard to guarantee equal rights and opportunities for both men and women to access education.

The gender gap in education has been markedly narrowed. The state implements the Compulsory Education Law of the People' s Republic of China and other relevant laws, regulations and policies, and takes practical measures to improve women' s education. It has implemented a special policy to ensure school-age girls enjoy equal access to compulsory education. In 2014, the net primary school enrolment rates of boys and girls were both 99.8 percent, meaning that China has achieved the United Nations Millennium Development Goals ahead of time. Women now enjoy greater opportunities in junior high school education and above, particularly further education. In 2014, the proportion of female students in junior high schools was 46.7 percent and that in high schools was 50 percent; in institutions of higher learning women accounted for 52.1 percent of undergraduate students, 51.6 percent of postgraduate students, and 36.9 percent of students studying for Ph.D. degrees.

The state has set up special funds to reduce the number of illiterate women. In 2013, the illiteracy rate for females at and over the age of 15 was 6.7 percent, 17.4 percentage points lower than in 1995; and the population of illiterate women fell by more than 70 million as compared with 1995. Women' s average years of schooling have increased, and the gender gap has narrowed. The Sixth National Census showed that the average years of schooling for women over the age of six were 8.4 years in 2010, 1.3 years more than in 2000, and the gender gap had narrowed by 0.2 year as compared with 2000.

More and more women have been receiving vocational education and skill training. The state has enacted and improved laws and policies on vocational education, allocating more funds in this regard, improving student aid policies and increasing the number of women receiving vocational education. In 2014, the number of women receiving secondary vocational education was 8.05 million, accounting for 44.7 percent of the total, and the number of females studying in technical secondary schools was 3.97 million, making up 53 percent of the total student body in similar schools. Around the country, 3.46 million women had received non-degree higher education and more than 20 million had received non-degree secondary education. The state launched a project to train farmers in new technology, a plan for cultivating highly skilled personnel, in addition to a number of training programs for improving the vocational skills of migrant workers, such as the Spring Tide Action and Sunshine Project, to meet the needs of different groups of women for their vocational development. In 2013, women who participated in skill training programs organized by government training institutions accounted for 43 percent of the total number of trainees.

Women of ethnic minority groups, girls in remote poverty-stricken areas and other female groups now enjoy equal access to educational resources. The state has adopted proactive policies to set up vocational schools specially catered to ethnic minority students, and introduced preferential measures for targeted enrolment, substantially expanding ethnic minority women' s access to educational resources of various types and at all levels. The state has developed special education programs for poor girls and schoolgirls, ensuring girls in remote and poor areas equal access to education. It has been accelerating the construction of boarding schools in rural areas, thereby improving the study and living conditions of rural girls. Specific policies have been introduced to provide education for migrant children where they move. China also attaches importance to special education, increasing disabled women' s access to educational resources of various types and at all levels; as a result, disabled women have improved access to education.

Principles and concepts of gender equality are gradually extending into teaching and scientific research. More and more schools have begun to introduce the idea of gender equality in educational content and teaching methods, and some primary and high schools are now offering courses in gender equality, directing younger students to relate to the idea of gender equality. Gender equality has also been introduced to some teacher training programs and normal school courses, in order to enhance teachers' awareness of gender equality. More women now occupy positions of decision-making and management in schools and educational administrative departments of all types and at all levels, greatly improving women' s participation in teaching, management and some other areas of higher education. In 2014, the proportion of female teachers in institutions of higher learning was 48.1 percent, an increase of 18.1 percentage points over 1995. Women' s studies continues to strengthen as a discipline in institutions of higher learning. Currently, more than 100 colleges and universities offer in excess of 440 courses on women' s studies and gender equality, and the number of master' s and doctoral programs on women' s studies continues to grow. The state has also included gender equality in the national plans of philosophy and social sciences to support research in gender equality and women's issues.

IV. Women and Health

China has set up a medical and health service system covering urban and rural areas, and has been working hard to enhance disease prevention and control capabilities, expand the overall coverage of medical insurance, improve laws and policies on maternal and child health as well as the service system in this regard, implement maternal and child healthcare programs, and endeavor to make maternal and child health services more equitable and accessible. As a result, women' s health has significantly improved.

A relatively sound system of laws and policies on maternal and child health has been established. The state has enacted, revised and implemented the Law of the People's Republic of China on Maternal and Infant Health Care, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Population and Family Planning in addition to a number of other laws and regulations, and introduced a series of supporting regulations and normative documents, to provide a legal framework for maternal and child health work. The state has included women's health indicators in the overall plans and special plans of the national economy and social development, made maternal and child healthcare a key element of the provision of national basic public services, and incorporated medical treatment of breast and cervical cancers into the medical security and assistance system for major diseases, thus improving women's healthcare.

A network of maternal and child health services has been put in place. A network of maternal and child health services covering both urban and rural areas has taken shape in China, with maternity and child care institutions as the core, community-level health care institutions as the foundation, and large or medium-sized medical institutions and relevant research and teaching institutions as the support. By the end of 2014, there had been 3,131 maternity and child care institutions throughout the country. The state has worked hard to improve community-level maternal and child health services and managed to provide full life-cycle health services for women. The state has also established and improved a system of annual reporting on maternal and child health, and a monitoring network. It has optimized the allocation of health resources, and increased funding for maternal and child health in rural and remote areas. It has accelerated personnel training in this regard and strengthened staffing for those institutions.

Maternal and child health services have become more equitable and accessible. The state has implemented basic public health service projects and major public health service projects on maternal and child health, doing all it can to improve the systematic management of pregnant and lying-in women, regulate service behavior, improve service quality, and make access to maternal and child health services more equal. By 2014, 90 percent of pregnant and lying-in women had access to basic public health services. The state has implemented major projects to subsidize hospital childbirths for rural pregnant and lying-in women, benefiting 57.12 million. The national hospital birth rate increased from 72.9 percent in 2000 to 99.6 percent in 2014, and the same rate in the countryside grew from 65.2 percent in 2000 to 99.4 percent in 2014.

In 2009, the state launched a program of free cervical and breast cancer check-ups for rural women, providing free cervical cancer check-up for 42.87 million and free breast cancer check-up for 6.13 million, in addition to extending medical treatment to 31,077 women having financial difficulties. The state has carried out major projects on AIDS, syphilis and hepatitis B, preventing mother-to-child transmission; 60.53 million pregnant women have benefited from the examination or treatment. It has also held women' s health programs such as the Chinese Women' s Health Initiative, while extending support to social organizations in organizing various forms of activities promoting women' s health.

Reproductive health services for women have been further strengthened. The state guarantees that women enjoy good reproductive health services throughout the life cycle, such as conducting general surveillance and treatment of gynecological diseases, and providing adolescent and old-age healthcare. It has implemented the policy of free technical services for family planning, promoted informed choice of contraceptive methods and reduced unintentional pregnancies. It has kept investigating and preventing fetal sex identification for non-medical needs and sex-selective pregnancy termination. It has provided health education, vaccination, maternal health care and other basic public health services for women in the floating population, and has launched pilot programs to ensure equal access to family planning and other basic public services by women in the floating population.

Women's health has further improved. Women's average life expectancy grew to 77.4 years in 2010, an increase of 4.1 years over 2000. The maternal mortality rate has fallen significantly, from 88.8 per 100,000 in 1990 to 21.7 per 100,000 in 2014, meaning that China has achieved the United Nations Millennium Development Goals ahead of time. The gap in maternal mortality rate between urban and rural areas and between different regions has been further narrowed: The rural-urban gap decreased from a factor of 2.4 in 2000 to 1.08 in 2014. In 2000, the maternal mortality rate of western China was 5.4 times that of eastern China; the figure dropped to 2.6 times in 2014. The World Health Organization lists China as one of the 10 countries with high performance in maternal and child health.

V. Women and Decision Making

China has formulated and implemented laws, regulations and policy outlines to ensure that women enjoy equal political rights with men, which has resulted in a higher level of female participation in politics and a greater role played by women in decision making and management of state and social affairs.

Improving laws and policies that boost women's participation in decision making and management. China has formulated and implemented proactive measures to boost women' s participation in decision making and management, which, in turn, has helped increase the number and proportion of women in decision-making and managerial positions. The detailed implementation rules of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women and the Electoral Law adopted by various places across China all include explicit provisions on the proportion of women candidates to local people's congresses. The state has formulated a special plan that defines the goals of and requirements for training and selection of women officials, and has taken concrete measures to increase the number and proportion of women officials at various levels. The Organic Law of the Village Committees of the People' s Republic of China rules that "female villager representatives should make up more than one third of the village committee." The Program for the Development of Chinese Women (2011-2020) states that "by 2020 the percentage of women in village committees will exceed 30 percent, and that female village committee heads should exceed 10 percent"; and that "the ratio in neighborhood committees should be around 50 percent." The Election Procedure of Village Committees issued in 2013 specifies that "village committee candidate lists should include a certain number of women; if not, those women who get the most votes should be candidates." This show that a number of measures has been adopted to improve the representation of women in village committees.

Women's participation in decision making and management has markedly improved. China values the role of women in people's congresses by improving their representation in the ranks of deputies to people's congresses at various levels. The ratio of women deputies to the first session of the 12th National People' s Congress in 2013 was 23.4 percent, 2.4 percentage points higher than 20 years ago; ethnic minority women deputies made up 41.3 percent of the total number of ethnic minority deputies. China sets store on improving women' s participation in socialist consultative democracy and the role of representatives of women's federations and women delegates to the Chinese People' s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The proportion of women members at the first session of the 12th CPPCC national committee in 2013 was 17.8 percent, 4.1 percentage points higher than 20 years ago. The ratio of female CPC members also markedly increased, reaching 24.3 percent, an increase of 8.7 percentage points from 1995. The ratio of women members in all other political parties (other than the CPC) is higher than 20 years ago. The number of women participating in the management of state public affairs keeps increasing. In 2013, the female employment ratio in central government agencies and their subsidiaries reached 47.8 percent. In recent years, the number of newly employed women civil servants has also increased steadily at local levels.

Women's extensive participation in the development of grassroots democracy. In 2013, female representation in village committees was 22.7 percent, an increase of 7 percentage points from 2000; the ratio of women as village committee heads and representatives also increased significantly, making women an important force in primary-level rural governance. In 2013, women made up 48.4 percent of neighborhood committees and female heads of neighborhood committees represented 41.5 percent. Female employees also play an active part in democratic management and supervision in enterprises. In 2014, female workers represented 38.1percent of the trade union members, female employee representatives accounted for 29.3 percent of workers' congresses, and female representatives made up 40.1 percent and 41.5 percent of boards of directors and regulatory committees, respectively.

The influence of women and women's organizations in the development of the country's democratic politics keeps growing. China supports and encourages women to take part in the management of state and social affairs in an orderly manner by expanding the scope and channels for such participation. Women deputies to people's congresses and the CPPCC women members have taken an active part in the administration and discussion of state affairs by actively introducing bills, suggestions and motions to help improve gender equality and women' s development. The state sets store by gender equality in decision making, enabling leading women officials to play an important role in decision making and management. Women's federations participate in legislation and consultative democracy. They have pressed for incorporating gender equality in the formulation and implementation of policies, laws and regulations, and urged to give expression to the principle of gender equality in the formulation and amendment of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women and the Anti-domestic Violence Law of the People's Republic of China. Women's organizations are a force of growing importance in primary level social governance. In recent years, using the venues of rural village committees and urban communities, women's federations have established more than 700,000 service centers (known as "Women's Home") to connect and serve women effectively, and to help with primary level social governance. Other women' s organizations also take an active part in democratic governance and supervision.

VI. Women and the Environment

China attaches great importance to creating a social and cultural environment conducive to boosting gender equality; through building a healthy and safe natural environment and fostering equal and harmonious family traditions, sound conditions have been created for women' s development. Women are playing an increasingly prominent unique role in the fostering of social culture, protection of the ecological environment and family management.

Creating a social environment in which women are respected and gender equality is upheld. The Party and government departments, women's federations and other social organizations at various levels promote the basic national policy of gender equality through various means, such as publicity campaigns, training courses and seminars. Leading Party and government officials at various levels have taken the lead in writing and publishing articles and making speeches to promote gender equality. China has developed cultural and media policies aimed to boost harmonious development between men and women and prohibit gender discrimination. The state has enhanced guidance and management of the media and has trained media workers to enhance their awareness of gender equality. China has improved supervision to ensure news media and advertising agents exercise strict self-discipline and avoid any discrimination against women in the media by depreciating or denying their independent personality. China has vigorously publicized the positive contribution made by women to economic and social development. Women are playing an important role in the media. By the end of 2014, female journalists and editors had made up 44.1 percent of qualified staff in this area.

Women's cultural life is being enriched. Public cultural services target women with the intention of satisfying their cultural demands. Museums, galleries, libraries and cultural centers nationwide are open to the public for free, and digital libraries are being developed, thus increasing women's access to culture. Major efforts have been made to boost the development of information technology, providing women with new platforms for cultural communication and innovation. By December 2014, Chinese women netizens numbered 283 million, accounting for 43.6 percent of the total netizens. Women have ever-increasing leisure opportunities. Fitness campaigns have been directed at hundreds of millions of women, and such activities are still gaining momentum. According to a recent survey of Chinese women' s social status, 55.2 percent of women are taking an active part in physical exercises.

The everyday environment for women is being markedly improved. The Program for the Development of Chinese Women (2011-2020) set goals for improving water supply services and toilets that have a positive impact on women' s daily and working life. Access to sanitary toilets in rural areas increased from 40.3 percent in 2000 to 74.1 percent in 2013. Improved water supply in rural areas has benefitted a total of 900 million people, with accumulative benefit rate of 95.6 percent. Access to tap water in rural areas increased from 55.2 percent in 2000 to 76.4 percent in 2013. All these changes have helped improve the living environment of women and reduced their daily burden. China sets store by highlighting the role of women in building a conservation culture. More and more women are involved in environmental protection, making their contribution to protecting the ecological environment, addressing climate change and maintaining energy and resource security. The number of female members in the NPC Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee, female mayors in charge of environmental protection and female heads of environmental protection bureaus has kept increasing. By the end of 2014, female officials working at the Ministry of Environmental Protection accounted for 31.2 percent of the total. Women are encouraged to participate in energy conservation and emission reduction efforts, and to adopt low-carbon lifestyle. Women take part in environmental protection with enthusiasm, and environmental protection organizations with women playing a dominant role are on the rise.

Building a harmonious and equal family environment. The 12th five-year plan for population development takes gender equality, family harmony and freedom and equality in marriage as its major goals. Some local regulations contain explicit provisions on maternity leave for female employees and nursing leave and subsidies for male employees, to support husbands and wives in balancing work and family and jointly sharing family responsibilities. China has conducted social studies of the relationship between women, marriage and family to improve the social support system for women. It has initiated "Care for Girls Action" to challenge the tradition of favoring boys. China has set up and improved systems of services for the elderly to ensure that elderly women' s living conditions and quality of life are improved, and that impoverished, widowed and elderly women living alone are given special care. China actively launches campaigns to find "Model Family" and "The Most Harmonious Family" to foster the best family traditions. Over the past 20 years, a marked improvement has been seen in gender equality in marriages and families. The recent survey of Chinese women's social status shows that it has become the norm for husbands and wives to make family decisions jointly, and that more than 70 percent of women have taken part in making major family decisions. More and more women can share family resources on an equal basis with men, and the concept of men and women sharing housework is now accepted, with the housework time gap between men and women shortened from 150 minutes 10 years ago to 74 minutes now.