How Much Power Do Women In China Have?

China’s highest ring of leadership in the Communist Party has never included a woman. And yet, one of China’s most famous leaders, responsible for some of its biggest advances in religion
and social class welfare, was actually the country’s only female ruler:Wu Zetian. In both her climb to the top, and subsequent leadership, Wu was known for her ruthless and brutal methods. She used a secret police force and executed many high ranking members of government; even large portions of her own family. She also elevated Buddhism over Taoism and emphasized education during her rule. But since her reign in the 7th century, no female has unilaterally ruled over China. Still, numerous cultural institutions minimizing or harming women have been ended. For example foot-binding, which was the practice of tightly binding women’s feet so that they appeared smaller, was outlawed in the early 20th century. And in 2016 the country’s one-child only policy finally ended. This policy explicitly favored male children over female, and may have contributed to asignificant imbalance of men and women in China. The one-child only policy was partially the result of Communist Party social planning,and while ultimately disastrous for women, other Communist policies have seen mixed results. For example, labor rates in the country are exceptionally high, with the rate of women in the workforce nearly as high as it is for men. On the other hand, China has one of the worst wage gaps worldwide, with women making about% of what men make. Additionally, women comprise almost exactly half of tertiary education students and graduates,a huge increase from previous decades. But even this improvement in educational standard has rippling cultural effects. Educated women are less likely to be married, and on average wait longer for marriage, as it is culturally accepted that men be more educated than women. And this is a problem, because older women in China are seen as “marriageable”,and shunned in society. Even the country’s Ministry of Education defines unmarried women over 27 as Leftover Women and the government has allegedly encouraged the term, specifically to shun these women. On the other hand, the government has also improved marriage laws, most significantly in 2001. The new “Marriage Law” removed many restrictions for divorce, giving women more power; for example, making infidelity a legitimate reason for divorce. These efforts have led to a shifting culture in China. One where although women are not in high positions of government, they may well be again, this time without murdering their opposition, as Wu Zetian did. One shining hope is the country’s Vice Premier, Liu Yandong, one of only two women in the entire Politburo, and the country’s highest ranked female politician. Liu oversees health, education, and athletics for China. Many believe that she may ultimately end up joining the inner circle of the highest committee in government, making her the first ever female member, and giving a voice to women from the most important decision making group. If this does, indeed, occur, it will show China’s dedication to righting many of its wrongs against women. After 35 years, China loosened its one-child policy. So how has the policy impacted the nation's population after all this time?Find out by watching our video here. Women are often pressured into having abortions if pregnant with a second child as the penalty ranges from a fine to even losing your job. In 2013, China's health ministry revealed that more than 300 million abortions had been performed to maintain the one-child policy.