I
Women Since Reforms in China -----Discussion and Rethinking Women Status
Paper for the 49th Annual Conference of American Association for
Chinese Studies
Alice B. Dong
YorkUniversity
Abstract
In 1978, the Chinese Communist Part (CCP) and government embarked on a new path towards modernization and development, rejecting much that was central to the previous Maoist political philosophy and implementing a range of reform polities. Since 1978, these polities have engendered major social, political, and economic changes, and some of these politics have heavily impacted on the lives of Chinese women. There are a lot of aspects that can be explored on this issue. But this presentation/paper will focus on three issues. First, the situation of female students particularly in high education will be examined. There is gap in the access to education between men and women. Apparently, since 1978, the national entrance examination have used the same marking scheme for all candidates, but discrimination in entrance exam has occurred a lot. The presentation will analyze these points in details. Second, female professionals, as other important issue will be explored. The reforms have affected the group of female intellectuals in different ways. The women in the sciences, female intellectuals “went to sea” ( to do business), and females in the humanities, their lives have been greatly changed since the reforms started. Some statistics ande evidences will be showed; finally, women’s marriage, the changes of their concepts both in urban and rural areas will be explored. The reasons such as changes of ideology, money worship that affect their concepts of the selection of marriage partners will be paid attention to. In the conclusion part of the presentation, the question: “women are better off since reforms or still secondary concern” will be answered.
Female students:
There is a gap in access to education between men and women. According to an international conference on Women and Education at end of 2002, 2.1 million girls were not in school. Women university graduates constituted only about 36.08 of all women. Men in 2002 had received an average of 7.05 years of schooling, women 5.46 years. [1]The white paper also reports of 32% illiteracy rate.[2] among women. In 2003, educational levels of women and men in some Han nationality is following: university: female: 0.896, male: 1.944; senior middle: female: 6.557, male: 7.889; junior middle: female: 19.483, male: 28.119 primary: female: 36.626 male:37.666. [3] in secondary socialized schools, in 2002, only 14 percent of girls, but 23 percent of boys, enrolled in keypoint academic schools. Overall, 57 percent of boys and 45 percent of girls continued into regular or keypoint academic high schools. [4] As a report, in 2003, literacy rate age 15+: female in China 68%,93% in Philippines, 95% in South Korea, male: 87% in china, 94% in Philippines, and 95% in South Korea, female as % of male in post secondary schools: 52% in China; 147% in Philippines, and 111% in Thailand, and 124% in United Sates. [5]
Apparently, since 1978, the national entrance examinations have same marking scheme for all candidates, but discrimination in entrance exams has happened a lot. From 1999-2003, in the universities, colleges even senior technical schools in some cities, as I surveyed, grades should be 100 point higher than boys for admission should.
Increasing women’s access to education is widely seen as key to equality in economic and social terms. While many articles wax lyrical over the benefits of education for women, one notes that what is needed is to increase the potential for women to earn more with more education.
However, uneven access to higher education and training further undermines the ability of Chinese women to achieve equality in the work place. Despite the fact that PRC women today are vastly better represented in higher education than in previous generations, the gap between male and female education levels is still wide.There is little likelihood that enrollment rates for women will improve, given that university place a high premium on their ability to secure good positions for their graduates face bleaker prospects for employment. Female university/college graduates in the PRC frequently cite discrimination in job assignments and interviews. And young women in school tend to be encouraged to pursue jobs in fields such as teaching, which are traditionally considered suited for women. Indeed, virtually almost all of China’s nursery school teachers and child care workers are women.
Why do women in China continue to receive less education? For one thing, particularly in the countryside, parents are quicker to take their daughter out of school and put them to work within or outside the household. Many parents continue to see education as more valuable for boys than girls. Parents in families with limited resources consider educating daughter to be a poor investment, perhaps because traditionally in China daughters left their parents’ homes after marriage. And, despite high levels of female participation in the work force, their smaller paychecks reinforce the prejudice against spending scarce education resources on daughters.
In addition, in the job market, many employers have discrimination female candidates by demanding high grade for job test. In 2005, The employers of China Bank, as I interviewed, the manager told me that they demanded female candidates should have 97 points or score to be employees, and males only have 70. [6]Besides this case, In Beijing region, the demand for university graduates went from 35,000 (1999) to 25,000 (2003) to 14,000(2004), and according to “ internal policy, they only can accept 10% females. [7]
The problem of female college students finding jobs not only because of the traditional bias that men are superior to women, but also because there is a standoff between the work units who do the hiring and the women themselves within the content of the reforms. It is difficult to find any employer in working units willing to undertake the burden of providing the time, personnel, and material resources necessary to cover for an employee about to undergo childbirth. Making the work more efficient is the idea of all employers.
Female intellectuals
The reforms have affected on the group of female intellectuals on different ways. First, most females in the sciences. Such as chemical engineering, computer sciences. They can legally have two positions/jobs: one full-time and another part time. Because they may have double payment, and their life is better off. In the two universities I visited in Beijing and Tianjin, from 2002-2204, average 37.5 female intellectuals have two jobs, and their annual income, average reached to 6000 Chinese Yuan monthly. Women who hold two positions are on age of 30-45, 80%, and above 45 15%, under 30, 5%.
Second, some female intellectuals “went to sea” ( to do business) but a few of them have been successful in doing business. Third, female intellectuals in social sciences such as law, accounting and so on. Many of them are keeping one employment, and open their own small business. They’re monthly income reaches 7000 to 10,0000 Yuan.
As I investigated, fourth, there is a large group of females who are still suffering a lower living standard. Those people in the humanities or arts, The female lecturers, professors, schoolteachers have a lot of teaching, research, marking, being supervisor to their students with relatively low pay. In the two universities I conducted my survey, , until 2005, associate professors have monthly 850Yuan, and lecturers 570 Yuan. It is extremely difficult for them to find second job because their field is lack of skills, and is restricted by political policies. Some of them have become tutors to tutor school students, but pay is 50-80 per hour, not high at all.
Reforms make some of female intellectuals getting a little bit rich, but generally, a lot of them are not. Even for those who have two jobs, from 2000 to 2006, more and more (40%) quitted one of them because they felt exhausted to do both plus housework.
Women’s life-Marriage
Changes of spouses choice
Influenced by remnant feudal ideas, Chinese women used to emphasize family status, property, and social standing in the choice of their marriage partners. Under the impact of the “Ultra-left” ideology during the Cultural Revolution, however, many young people only stressed family background as the precondition for choosing their spouses. Since the launching of reform, the policy of enlivening the domestic (economy) and opening to the outside world has been implemented and people’s lifestyle diversified. Women have formed a new concept about the value of life and discarded the conventional idea of dependency, thus reshaping their views on the choice of marriage partners. The reforms make Chinese people easier to communicate each other. Today in the cities, the marriage services are computerized, and through the services, many people have chosen appropriate spouses. What are the ideal husbands for Chinese women? In the urban area, female intellectuals and students, before 1978, they had to choose workers or peasants to be theirhusbands in order to improve their class background. And now, more and morefemale students and intellectuals choose the men who have money, good family background and high education as husbands..
An increasing number of women emphasize the practical ability of potential partners. When responding to the questions for my interview “ what kind of person is your idealhusband?” 59.7% of the over 52 women I surveyed in Beijing, answered “he must be a strong man in his career and rich”, 30.5% said “he must be capable and considerate”, and 6 % held that “he must be someone with a special characters.”
What are young girls’ major consideration in the universities? I met with the warmest response in meeting organized among single female students in two universities. 81.4% said their fist concern is financially well-off, 78% good family environment ,48% have school diploma 45.5%, good looks 34.3% pointed out politically progressive, 33% Go-Ahead spirit professionally: 32%. Similar interests 27% good mixer. The data I collected shows that two major qualities they seek in a mate are “Financially well-off” and good family environment. Obviously, the young people major concerns have to do with a man’s income, tangible, concrete things such as job and position, family background (at least not poor) are important..
The young women we surveyed are imbued with the characteristic spirit of the modern age as well as their own individual personalities. On the questions of love and marriage, they stress equality between the sexes and preservation of their independent identities, and in family life, its emotional content.
Marrying with foreigners is getting popular by the end of 1996. In nationwide until 2003, 120,000 Chinese people married with foreigners, 87% were females. In Beijing, since 2003, the rate of marring foreigners has increased 67%. Totally Chinese married with foreigners and overseas Chinese have constituted 35% .[8]
Girls from countryside first concern the urban residents ID and income. In 2004, A survey I did in three counties, Henan province, shows 97.6% of them are hoping to find a “rich man with ID.” In most places of rural area, bride prices have been considerably higher than dowries, and have risen in the recent years. Bride-price payments increased tenfold between 1999 and 2003. [9] The sale of young women as brides, according to one report, almost 10,000 women and children are sold each year in Henan alone. The high payment of bride price has increased the tendency of a husband and his family to abuse wife if they do not satisfied her serving to the whole family. The high payment also makes a family being resist women who seeks divorce.
Divorce:
Attributed to the 1980 marriage Law that gives more freedom to divorce. The rate of divorce has increased year by year. Civil administration statistics show that the divorce rate (that is, the comparative rate between the number of divorces and the total population in a particular year). In China have risen from the 1.38% of 1998 to 1.85 % in 2002, with a corresponding rise in the 800,000 divorced couples of 1998 to 1,130,000 couples in 2002. Result from nationwide survey shows that in 1996, 2.59% of those aged 18 and over were divorced, whereas in 2003 the percentage was 3.89, and by 1996, the rate had reached 4.57%. in the period between 1998 and 2003, the number of divorced people rose from 4,840,000 to 6,970,000, a rise of over 2, 000, 000. [10] There are some characteristics of the divorced cases. First, the rate of divorce increases most rapidly among the 30-39 year old group. Second, there has been a clear rise in the divorce rate in those educated to high school level and above. The divorce rate among city dwellers is higher than that in the countryside. And the cases in which women proposed divorce have been increased, in 2003, it constitutes 70% although divorce is much harder for women than men. [11] The reason for the divorce is very complicated, and one of the reasons is the unemployment. When I interviewed the female workers (30 divorce cases) in China, I was told that after they were laid off, their husbands and husband’s families abused them, and they had to decide to divorce.
In the year since reform and opening up, the changing attitudes towards marriage are obvious. Although these changing reflect advances in the economic society, the law, and moral values, at the same time they also bring about difficulties and conflicts such as the problems of educationfor children (usually single mothers is taking care of child) and living arrangement for divorced women.
Conclusion
Reforms changed people’s concept and value, women’s choices of marriage mate is the typical example. It seems that they are going back to the old/traditional idea: change their own social status by marrying rich men. But generally, in the reform era, women are still the secondary concern. The reason for that is revolution and reforms dominated by men instead if it shared by both sexes. In the reform era, under the new policies, women are being told to step aside in interests of the nation. National interests and needs have the highest priority. In general sense Chinese women have not benefited from the process of reform to the same extent as men, and that in numerous ways the subordination of women has been reinforced and increases since the reforms were introduce. We can see five decades after the funding of the people’s Republic; gender inequality persists in China. Women’s lower position in the gender hierarchy is reflected in the continued preference for son for education, marriage partner choices’ women concerned mostly property and income of men and in the inequality of criteria of admission of university student. The China case clearly shows that a commitment to female equality can not be simply the outcome of economic development or reforms, but that can and must shape the patterns and processes of development itself. Social modernization and reforms do not in themselves automatically liberate women.
1
[1]Chins News Analysis, August 1-15, 1995, page 5.
[2] Zhang, Kai, “An Alternative View of the Status of Women in China today” October, Review Vol. 22 Issue 3, 1995. 8.31 page 46.
[3]Population Research, 1995, No. 2, p50.
[4] The China Quarterly, 1996: No.7 58.
[5] Nancy E. Riley, “Holding Up Half the Economy”The China Business Review, 2003, vol.1, page23.
[6] Zhang ping ed. The Current Situation of Chinese Women, Hongqi Chuban She, 1995, 90.
[7]China News Analyses, Sep. 1, 1998, 17.
[8]Sintao nespaper, monthly collection, 1998, dec. 12, 63.
[9] Jacka Tamara, 62.
[10]Inside China mainland, august 1998, 80.
[11] Ibd. 92.