Gender inequality in China
[17] The Communist government attempted to challenge Confucian beliefs,[18] and one of its main goals was to improve the social position of women by promoting their entry into the labour force.
[23] This state-supported feminism promoted employment opportunities for women in the public sector and provided benefits such as maternity leave and day care to female workers.
[28][29] China's market-oriented economic reforms undermined workplace gender equality by using migrant women as a cheap, flexible labour force.
[citation needed] Although women have gained working opportunities, the unparalleled growth in male salaries have widened the gender wage gap.
[32] Secondly, men in Chinese society historically have made more money, inherited property, and continued the family line, leading women to be less preferred.
The cultural norms rely heavily on men working to provide and take care of the family, therefore they are often hired and paid at a higher rate than women in China.
[43] Women's traditional gender role in China focused on staying at home and taking care of the house and family, while the men go and provide at work.
[45] Part of the difference results from higher-quality skills acquired by men through better educational opportunities, managerial positions, and previous work experience.
[27] As a result, businesswomen have less access to the networks of government officials, business partners, and underworld organizations which are crucial to entrepreneurial success in China.
[54] The beauty economy has set high standards for physical appearance, encouraging women to consume youth-preserving products and promoting ageism.
[54] During the state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms of the late 1990s, women were laid off in greater numbers and received larger pay cuts than men.
[29] Gender discrimination also affects women of reproductive age, who are frequently passed over due to a potential future loss of productivity resulting from pregnancy.
[58] This shift may be caused by increased FDI investment in production, resulting in additional low-paying factory jobs which are predominantly filled by women.
[59] During the late 12th century, neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi advocated the "three bonds" between ruler and subject, father and son, and husband and wife.
[61][62] Confucian conceptions of filial piety has been focused on preserving the traditional role of the father as the primary leader and decision maker of the family.
[65] According to Wang's 2012 article, "Goodbye Career, Hello Housekeeping", "80 percent of husbands in China hope their wives will become full-time homemakers" to stabilize their marriage and take care of their families.
[71] There is also the issue of forced abortions in China, especially for sex selection purposes; authorities have been accused of giving the women virtually no control over their bodies in this area.
[76] Marriage pressures stem from Confucian values which promote the necessity for women to marry to continue the family lineage by bearing a son.
[79] Strong family pressure reinforces this ideology, and the focus on career development often leads to less time for individual personal lives (resulting in flash marriages).
[22] Due to parental anxiety, women are pressured to marry young (even a flash marriage, at the cost of career and independence) before they see themselves as too old to find a quality husband.
[84] Since hukou is passed through the maternal line, the system prevents rural women from giving their children social mobility and perpetuates gender and rural-urban inequality.
Women tend to be negatively affected in employment by marriage and family, and a significant job-mobility gender gap exists in urban China.
The study noted employer discrimination against, and fewer career opportunities for, married women (who, it is believed, have lower productivity and commitment to work due to family obligations).
[85] Another study of the urban Chinese labour market demonstrates that the presence of children under age five negatively affects women's employment status and income, but not men's.
Women are expected to take care of children and housework, and their roles as wives, mothers and caregivers cause work-family conflicts and constrain job choices.
Men usually control valuable resources and assets such as land, property, and credit, and can accumulate capital and start a business more easily than women.
A study of migrant workers in southern China found that women usually spend less and send a larger proportion of their wages back to their rural family than men do.
Rising house prices are making it harder for couples in China to get married earlier, due to the belief that it is required to have a home set up in order for marriage to take place.
However, over time, Chinese society has undergone tremendous changes, including the elevation of women's status and the gradual dilution of traditional customs.
In 2022, the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) posted an article on Weibo, criticizing what they called “Extreme Feminism” and quickly gained widespread attention.
