User:Yifancai/Gender inequality in China

One-child policy and gender disparity
Main article: One-child policy

Introduced in 1979, the policy set a limit on the number of children parents could have. Because parents preferred sons, the incidence of sex-selective abortions and female infanticide substantially increased. It is also illegal for any doctors to reveal the sex of the infant to the parents. This has led to male overpopulation in China; in 2005, men under age 20 outnumbered women by more than 32 million.

In 2015, the one-child policy was abolished, and a two-child policy was introduced. Couples were encourage to have a second child, and the policy led to 5.4 million extra birth in China. Then in 2021, a three-child policy was introduced due to urgent needs to repopulate China. Families were told that they will be given better benefits and opportunities if they were to help contributed in repopulating the country.

Gender disparity in China has been a complex and multifaceted issue with various dimensions, including demographics, social norms, and economic factors. A key aspects to be considered is the skewed sex ratio which led to female infanticide and sex-selective abortions. The imbalanced sex ratio has created a demographic challenge with a surplus of men, commonly referred to as the "missing women" phenomenon. This surplus of men is expected to have social implications, including difficulties in finding spouses for a portion of the male population. Gender disparities are also present in economic opportunities and the workforce. While women make up a significant portion of the workforce, they often face challenges in career advancement and are underrepresented in leadership positions. Additionally, there is a persistent gender pay gap. Traditional gender roles and cultural expectations can contribute to gender disparities as well. In some cases, there are expectations for women to prioritize family responsibilities over their careers, which can impact their professional advancement. Although access for education has been improving for girls, challenges remain. In some areas, there may still be disparities in educational opportunities and resources between boys and girls.

Framing of women's issues
Much of mainstream media has featured marriage and private life as women's issues, rather than gender discrimination and inequality. A study indicated that "delaying marriage and relationship" was the most-frequently-discussed topic in mainstream media. It has focused on women's personal lives, such as marriage and romantic relationships, while gender issues such as "gender discrimination" and "traditional expectations" have often been ignored.

In 2015, the Feminist Five were arrested for planning on passing out sexual harassment stickers in public. 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. Within 3 days, the post gained 602k reposts, 269k comments, and 6.3m likes. The CYLC claimed that extreme feminists have been causing confusion and division about gender opposition online, urging the public to eradicate them to restore a clean online environment.

Lead
Gender inequality is a significant ongoing issue in China. However, it seems that Chinese women are experiencing more inequality as society develops. In this article, we learn that gender inequality has been existing through Chinese history, for instance, the forced foot binding of Chinese women. During and after the Mao era, women's worth had significantly increased because of Mao's saying "women hold up half of the sky". Even though women were given more employment and education opportunities, women were still given a challenge on reproductive rights. I specifically added more information and content on the one-child policy and now the three-child policy.

Article body
New information was added. From one-child policy to three-child policy, China encouraged couples to have a third child for more benefits. In framing of women's issues, I added the incident of the Feminist Five and the CYLC post.