Women’s labor-force participation in China has fallen since Xi Jinping took power

Representational image. News18

China has increasingly turned away from more progressive policies towards women, as they are not assigned roles in departments such as security or economics that catapult an officer’s career. Women are mostly assigned portfolios in education and health.

According to the World Economic Forum’s gender gap rankings, China now ranks 102nd out of 146 countries, down from 69th in 2012, the year Xi Jinping took power.

Since Xi Jinping came to power, there has been a decline in women’s labour force participation, and a renewed emphasis on women’s roles at home.

During China’s 20th Party Congress, Xi Jinping announced his Politburo members, which is the elite committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It included no women for the first time in 25 years.

The party now prioritises women’s contributions to child care and senior care, according to The Wall Street Journal. The shift occurs as birth and marriage rates decline, trends that could have disastrous economic ramifications. The All-China Women’s Federation has made a commitment to follow the party’s example and is currently advocating “family virtues.”

The Wall Street Journal report also stated that the number of women in politics and high-level government positions has decreased during Xi’s ten years as general secretary of the party, and gender gaps in the workforce have widened. In recent years, the government has increased its emphasis on the importance of traditional roles for women while silencing feminist voices as well.

Mao Zedong urged women to join the workforce to help build the nation. Female labor participation has steadily decreased since 1990, according to the World Bank, and dropped further under Xi, to 62% in 2021 from 64% in 2012.

The retirement age for women in China is also low, it is 55 for civil servants, compared to 60 for men in the same field, and it is 60 for officials at the deputy division level and above.

While central leaders typically adhere to an unofficial age cap of 68, ministers are expected to retire at age 65.

With inputs from agencies

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