The government has not done enough to help women cope with the

challenges of modernisation in China today How far do you agree?

Since Chinas opening up in 1978, CCP has been trying to abate the
undesirable effects of modernization that are impeding the rise of status of
women. Even though the Beijing government has continued approaches from
different aspects to empower the position of women, the success of their
attempt is greatly limited by the perennial traditional prejudice and social
stigma that are scornful against the gradual liberation of women from their
rigid and binding conventional roles. Therefore, while it is true that
government efforts alone are inadequate at overcoming all the challenges of
modernization that women face, it cannot be said that the Beijing
government has not done enough because the problem with the suppression
of females is a deep-seated one and it would require a complete reformation
of the societys mindset to change; which perhaps will only come with the
democratization of China.
CCPs economic policies have increased the employment opportunities of
women by helping them to cope with the financial challenges of
modernization. Womens expenses during maternity leave used to be paid by
respective work units and enterprises when the women worked. Because of
this, the imbalance of financial responsibility among industries employing
different percentages of men and women made it very disadvantageous for
women when they are competing for job opportunities. By setting up
insurance systems across various Chinese provinces like Jiangsu, Zhejiang,
Shandong, Yunnan and Guangxi etc, women are able to enjoy more equal
treatments in terms of career opportunities.
The government has also passed several legislations to protect the civil and
labour rights of women so that they will not be exploited. Law of the
Peoples Republic of China on the Protector of the Rights and the Interest of
women passed in 1992 guaranteed the rights of women in China by law.
Which states that womens federations and commissions are authorized to
act when rights of women are infringed upon reinforces the strength of
governmental bodies tot ake actions to protect womens legal rights. Publicity
of the law is also carried out at various levels to propagate the governments
support for equal rights for men and women. Trade unions are also formed to
organise classes at town centres to inform the general public about womens
rights.
CCP has formulated policies to help women deal with the social and economic
challenges of modern China. For e.g, chapter 4, article 22 of the Law of the
people;s Republic of China on the Rights and Interest of women prohibits
employers from dismissing female employee because of marriage,
pregnancy, maternity leave or infant nursery. Chapter 3, article 15 which

concerns the cultural and educational rights of women, obligates schools to

confer women with equal rights as men in aspects such as admission,
attachment opportunities upon graduation and prospects for further studies
abroad. Article 17, authorizes the government to take actions against
parents to fall to send their children to school for at least the mandatory 9
years of elementary and secondary education. Problems of discrimination
against women in labour reorganisation, recruitment and college enrolment
are all addressed by government policies like these.
Intensified government investments in rural education have also empowered
women with the knowledge and skills to grapple with the challenges of
modernization. By raising womens qualification through government policies
, women are better equipped to suit the increasingly competitive society.
Government funded organization like China children, Teenagers fund, China
Youth development fund have instituted special programs like Spring Bud
project and Hope project to provide schooling for women in impoverished
areas of China. Womens federations have established programs to strength
the ability of Chinese women to copete. These federations have launched
campaigns to eradicate illiteracy and have offered trainings in cooperation
with science and technical schools to prepare rural women with skills so that
they can enjoy better quality of life. The China college for women in Beijing
also trains women to become leaders and high level managers.
However, governmental organization could not eradicate the longstanding
social prejudices against women that exist even in modern China.
Discrimination and prejudice against Strong women an outgrowth of the
long feudal history, are deeply ingrained in the Chinese society. Due to the
paternal characteristics of the society, women who are more capable than
their male counterparts are despised. This is especially true if the woman
focuses more on her career and less on her family. No matter how successful
they are in the economic field, they would still be deemed as having failed in
their primary duty as a woman. Although women represent a large part of the
workforce, they are often kept at the bottom of the pyramid structure. The
same can be said for politics. There has never been a female politician in the
elite level of the CCP and even in the National Peoples Congress, the ratio of
male to females representatives is 8:1.
Modern economic challenges women face could not be remeded by
government policies. In a market economy, efficiency of the firm is the top
priority. As a result, protective laws and regulations implemented to protect
women are often ignored or abused by the management. During interviews
many factories and other business enterprises prefer to recuit men because
of womens traditional responsibilities of hearing and rearing situation
children an dmaintaining households. Arriving late, leaving early, and asking
for leaves are unfairly conceived ideas throughout of women imposed by the

society. Not only are women hired in low-paying jobs, they receive a lower
pay for accomplishing the same work done by men. On average, women only
receive 77% of what men earns for doing the same amount of work. In times
of recessions, they are the first to be retrenched. To avoid pensions and
medical benefits, companies have sometimes used dodgy methods to
misemploy female workers.
Governmental policies are unable to reduce heightened womens stress that
comes with the hectic and competitive pace of modernization. In china,
women continue to bear primary responsibility of childbearing, bringing up
the child and doing housework. On top of this, they now have to work to
support the family. Balancing between work and family, yet most of the time,
they are unable to receive support and understanding from their family and
the society. Within the households, women are expected to give priority to
the man. Putting career first is tolerable for men but when women do the
same, they are viewed negatively upon with contempt and scorn. Due to
surfeit of stress placed on women to succeed in both roles, China has the
highest suicide rate for women in the world.
All in all, the Chinese government has done what it could to ensure that
women are able to cope with the challenges of modernization. However,
government policies are not the pancreas to the problem faced by women.
Enmeshed in along history of gender biasness and a bigoted culture, the CCP
government is unable to help women overcome the undesirable impacts of
modernization. Furthermore, many of the government policies are still in the
experimental phase and they are found primarily in the more economically
developed provinces of China and the ten megacities. Within the inland
provinces of China, laws that are supposed to protect the rights of women are
still poverty enforced due to the weak rule of law and rampant corruption that
permeates the country. Even when they are enforced properly, loopholes and
ambiguities of the laws undercut its ability to safeguard womens rights.
Moreover, traditional prejudices and social stigma make it hard for employers
to see beyond the gender dissimilarity completely. The government is also
unable to alleviate the intangible problems that are facing women like the
inevitable stress that concerns with increased opportunities. Be that as it
may, given the current state and position of women in China, it has already
progressed largely from the feudal times and all these improvements have to
be accredited to the Beijing government.