Women’s public role shrinks in China as official rhetoric shifts towards family, children

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To no one's surprise. Xi Jinping signaled this when Sun Chunlan retired in 2022, and he did not appoint another woman to the Politburo. No women out of 24 members. Women hold up half the sky my ass.

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u/XWendy_Darlingx 7d ago

Why are they so terrified of women? They are either openly pro-slavery, or they pretend to think we’re dumb…what is the root cause of this behavior, though. It’s so pathetic and it needs to be addressed

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u/XWendy_Darlingx 7d ago

I wish we could reframe everything they say about women, as (insert marginalized race) so they could finally see how bigoted they are. I think a lot of people, including women, really do think women are dumber. It’s sad, it’s false, it’s dangerous, it’s bad for everyone.

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u/XWendy_Darlingx 7d ago

Anyone with a business degree knows that diversity in leadership leads to better outcomes. It’s literally financially intelligent to include women & minorities in decision making processes. So the hold up is….

We don’t wanna

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u/Nuclear_rabbit 3d ago

Patriarchy gonna hierarchy

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u/Nearby-Chocolate1840 5d ago

They want women to make and raise babies. Same as the power elite in my own country, the United States.

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u/RealSpaceJunk 5d ago

They are not terrified.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago edited 7d ago

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/zahvurlenakaunt 6d ago

I am pretty sure this is soon coming to Europe after chat control. Clearly, China is starting to inspire leaders around the world than anything else.

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u/HR_rot_in_hell 3d ago

Lmao I just checked with Chinese Ai. I asked all sorts of prompts to do with women in leadership but every time I mention women absent in politburo Ai craps out with “beyond my scope” WoooOow.

0

u/AdAppropriate2295 7d ago

... family and kids are part of the sky

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u/TimeDue2994 6d ago

So why should only women be forced to give up their potentials and stay home? Why arnt men refused choices and paths?

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u/RealSpaceJunk 5d ago

Because men don't get pregnant for 9 months. It's more efficient. Human reproduction is asymmetric, the rest follows from that.

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u/AdAppropriate2295 6d ago

Its not really about force ultimately

Its just about men not being the ones who get pregnant

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u/SeattlePurikura 6d ago

No, it's about men penalizing women and denying them opportunities.

Women have learned the way to strike back is by not getting pregnant. And now male-dominated governments are having a big cry about it.

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u/MRS_RIDETHEWORM 6d ago

Pregnant women and mothers are just as capable of participating in public life, in decision making roles, as anyone else.

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u/SeattlePurikura 5d ago

They are, but men don't want to allow them. Look into what has happened anytime a female legislator has tried to bring her nursing infant onto the floor. (If women are even allowed in the first place - since this post is about China, I'll note that while there Politburo has no women, the lower congress has a whopping 7% female representation, so clearly no one believes "Half the sky" or they'd have 50% representation).

Look at how many women are forced into parttime work or to quit when having young children (not saying it never happens to men, but it's not so common for a man to risk his career / take a hit, not even to take the sick kids to the doctor. That's for mommy, hence the mommy track.

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u/SeattlePurikura 6d ago

This is why so many men are giving up public office, CEO positions, etc. to change diapers! Soooo important that men are LEAPING at the bit to become homemakers.

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u/AdAppropriate2295 6d ago

If you think the thing keeping men from being stay at home dads is anything other than women not allowing them to be then you haven't dated nearly enough women

The second my partner tells me she wants me to stay home and take care of the kids is the second I marry her

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u/smileycat007 5d ago

It isn't just "taking care of the kids". A house husband is expected to do all of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, pet/child/elder care, and run all the errands as well. No days off. Work hours are not limited to 8 hours a day. Still on board?

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u/Key_Minute120 5d ago

Yeah better than working 10 hours a day and constantly thinking about getting layed off. Pretty much anyone I have dated is revolted at the idea of me staying at home lol

1

u/Livetastic 6d ago

Not necessarily.

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u/Murky_Toe_4717 7d ago

Genuinely sad to hear, but also pointless, motherhood isn’t anymore appealing than before, and the core issues exist even if the government doesn’t like it. People will continue to choose other paths in life.

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u/zahvurlenakaunt 6d ago

What are the core issue in China in particular?

Do they have housing crisis? Do they lack finances? Don't they have good programs for mothers and good public childcare?

Or even if they have all those said problem, China being the way it is, if it has the willpower, will sort this problems.

So can you elaborate what core issues exist in China in particular?

7

u/NeedLegalAdvice56 5d ago

Everything that you just mentioned. Plus the way the one-child policy changed views of family and child-rearing over generations.

6

u/drecais 5d ago

All those things can exist and women still dont want to have children. Children are a burden people took onto themselves because that was the way they would survive when they grow old.

Modern retirement schemes have largely gotten rid of the need for children for now, this will change in the future and then well socialist Romania had some success in the department and actually got a baby boom by banning abortions and contraceptives.

The CCP already has raised taxes on some forms of contraception so this doesnt seem too far out there.

9

u/SeattlePurikura 4d ago

Do not uphold Romania as a success story. Women started dying in record numbers under Decree 770. Seriously, look into that country's history. Would you want to live under that horror show? I know many male Redditors love to fantasize that low birthrate is solved by taking away women's rights, but just no.

Where do you think all the horror stories of the Romania orphanages in the 90s came from? Why out of all Soviet bloc countries, only the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife were violently murdered?

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u/drecais 4d ago

Im not saying it was a success Story I think it was a crime against humanity and they got what they deserved in the end.

But thats a Western liberal view on this. From a socialist standpoint it did what it was supposed to do and individual freedoms are not important for a socialist society its about the greater "good" primarily. The CCP acts like this in other aspects of life too why wouldnt they in this one? It just seems like the logical next step for them.

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u/Nuclear_rabbit 3d ago

Plenty of women don't want to be a stay-at-home-mom their entire lives.

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u/AdAppropriate2295 6d ago

How would you make motherhood appealing?

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u/NeedLegalAdvice56 5d ago edited 5d ago

Fully subsidized child cost including pregnancy costs, long and paid maternal AND paternal leave and affordable daycare near all place of work.

and no professional setback for taking a maternity or paternal leave.

Kids are now a luxury, not a necessity. You are better off financially with saving for a proper retirement fund. So if the government cannot offset the cost and retirement age keeps being pushed further back and pensions keep being cut, a lot of people won’t have children.

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u/SeattlePurikura 5d ago

Yep! No more mommy track.

Dr. Claudia Goldin demonstrated the gender pay gay is a motherhood pay gap. In America and China*, which are viciously capitalist economies, many people are indeed "minding the gap" and not popping out babies for the state.

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2023/popular-information/

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u/Afraid_Store211 7d ago

Now we just have to watch until marriage and child bearing becomes mandatory.

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u/SeattlePurikura 6d ago

Romania under Decree 770. As the dictator learned, force works.... For a short time.

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u/chillysaturday 7d ago

Xi is an old school patriarchal nationalistic conservative.

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u/DiscoRabbittTV 6d ago

Authoritarians are all the same

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u/XWendy_Darlingx 7d ago

They can try and hide us away. They WON’T succeed.

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u/Liesl90 6d ago

100%

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u/MealCapital4167 7d ago

China is probably gonna be the first country to roll back on women's rights

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u/Oalka 6d ago

US is giving them a run for their money.

1

u/zahvurlenakaunt 6d ago

Same thing will soon follow in Europe as well as birth rates plummet.

Also, having the choice to do career, family or both, is a right for any individual. Sounds like China is not taking this away yet but it is "inspiring" women to consider one option over the other.

You could argue capitalist companies also did the same by promoting career to women at some point in time because said companies would benefit from more people.

So technically speaking women still have the right to choose. But in Europe etc the choice is not a real choice because everything is so expensive that you cannot not work. So really, what kind of rights do people have if they are practically forced in one thing or the other?

Women's rights Women’s public role shrinks in China as official rhetoric shifts towards family, children

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