The hand that rocks the cradle rocks in China

27 June 2014 05:32 am Views - 2433

In traditional China, women have always taken a back seat. Sons have been preferred over daughters. Recognized as a global powerhouse of economic growth, as China hits the 21st century, the status of women there seem to be changing; from one in which women took a back seat to men, to one in which they hold equal economic participation.

Chinese female CEOs

According to Shanghai Daily, China holds the second-highest percentage of women chief executive officers in the world during the past decade after the United States and Canada. The report quoted the percentage of female CEOs in China to be at 2.5 percent, when compared to 3.2 percent in the US and Canada, recognized as the highest in the world. In contrast, the lowest rate of 0.8 percent belongs to Japan.

Although female CEOs were a rarity in China, it has become a trend now to see women appointed to key leadership positions – the report says that the rate is likely to grow, with women comprising of about a third of new CEO appointments. It seems that companies engaged in IT, consumer goods and related industries have the highest rate of women heading them.

Women make up half of China’s workforce but the majority takes up entry level jobs and do not typically rise high enough to head the company. With what is known as a high internal promotion rate of 84 percent, China still falls short, according to the report, when it comes to overall opportunities available to women. Women are also at a disadvantage because they must retire earlier than the men.
China also leads when it comes to entrepreneurship among women, with a quarter of all entrepreneurs being women.  Half of the world’s self-made billionaires are from China and the trend is growing.

Half of the world’s self-made billionaires are from China and the trend is growing

Most powerful women

On the 2011 Global Gender Gap Index, China was placed at 61 out of 135 countries. Only 21.3 percent of parliamentary positions in China are held by women - which means out of 187 countries, China is placed at 50. However, China ranked no one out of 135 countries when it comes to ‘Economic Participation and Opportunity for Professional and Technical Workers’ in the same report.

According to Forbes, female Chinese CEOs do make up the list of world’s most powerful women.

At the top is Sun Yafang, the Chairman of the country’s leading telecom hardware company, Huawei. Sun Yafang, an engineer, is seen as one of the most powerful women executives in the world but also a reclusive one. She is often seen interacting with statesmen, accepting awards from trade groups and giving speeches that honor her company for innovation and teamwork. The company’s sales in 2013 were US $ 39.4 billion; it is recognized as one of the world’s biggest cell phone suppliers with a vibrant presence in almost all major markets.

Yafang is followed by Dong Mingzhu, who heads Gree Electrical Appliances, Song Guangju, who heads Poly Real Estate Group, Wu Yajun, Longfor Properties, Sun Yiping, Mengniu Dairy, Lucy Peng, who heads Alibaba Group and Zeng Jingxuan who heads Standards Chartered Greater China, among many others.

Leftover women

But all of this, it seems, does not automatically translate into better opportunities for women in China. For an example, unmarried urban women over age 27 are known as leftover women. Women in rural areas face domestic violence and often do not have many to turn to.

Yet, despite the odds, the courage and resilience of Chinese women, as elsewhere, has enabled them to rise above challenges and carve out a place for themselves. Outside the corporate world, some of China’s outstanding women have been profiled in TIME. Hu Shuli, China’s leading investigative journalist and the Editor-in-Chief of Caixin Media, has been well known for her hard hitting sense of journalism, exposing scandals in the financial sector.

Yan Geling, novelist and screenwriter, is better known outside China for her books such as The Banquet Bug and the Lost Daughter of Happiness. China’s first public interest lawyer, Guo Jianmei, says she was inspired at the 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women when she listened to Hillary Clinton deliver the now famous words “Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights and human rights.” Her award-winning work has been much acclaimed.Like in much of Asia, women in China have had and still continue to fight their battles in climbing the ladder. But the results are showing – results of women who despite the shortcomings, the challenges, are committed to making it to the top.

(Nayomini Weerasooriya, a senior journalist, writer and a PR professional, can be contacted at nayominiweerasooriya@gmail.com)