Gender Quotas in China: Progress and Challenges

1. Gender quotas in China 中国的性别比例制 Qi Wang Associate Professor Department of Design and Communication University of Southern Denmark qi.wang@sitkom.sdu.dk

2. Main points • A sketch of the Chinese genderquota system • How gender quotas work in China: three challenges • The ambiguous nature of the gender quotas themselves • The (still) lack of electoral system based on one man one vote • The lack of quantitative “jump” in the proportion of women in politics as a proof that gender quotas have actually worked. • Methodology: look into the trajectory of China’s political development since 1949 and spot the junction/disjunction between gender equality (gender quotas) and the overall political agenda for social and political development overtime. This junction/disjunction, I argue, is the key to understand the characteristics of gender quotas in China and the paradoxical results they have brought with.

3. quota type

4. Quota mandate in china Organizational work The party The state The All-China Women’s Federation ACWF Woman-work

5. The Chinese gender quota system: three pillars The constitution as the overall framework, the electoral Law and the Women’s Law (The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests) as the legal basis; The stipulation and provision clause issued by the relevant Party and government authorities as the guideline and goal; Local-level plans, actions and methods as the concrete measures to implement the designated goals (Du, 2012a; Du, 2012b).

6. China as one of the earliest nations in the world to adopt gender quotas • Waves of feminist suffrage movements in the 1910s and 1920s; Stipulation of women’s equal political rights with men in provincial constitutions and the election of women to provincial legislatures” (Edwards, 2008:1). • 25% quota for women in the Communist-controlled “red” areas in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s (Gu, 2010; Du, 2012a). • In 1946, women suffragists “won a guaranteed minimum 10 percent quota of seats for women” in the Nationalist parliament (Edwards, 2008:2). • Since 1949 gender quotas have been applied through different sub-periods of the PRC, though with varied degree of enthusiasm, commitment and effects.

7. The chinese quota paradoxes • A rather weak and unstable causal relationship between the existence of gender quotas and the proportion of women in politics. • A time lag between the momentum of women’s representation in China and the development of the international gender equality regime represented by the UN and various gender-related UN treaties. • The zigzag trajectory of gender equality and women’s representation runs counter to the core of Western theories about equal representation and democracy.

8. Four scenarios of quota adoption • “Women mobilize for quotas to increase women's representation”; • “political elites recognize strategic advantages for supporting quotas”; • “quotas are consistent with existing or emerging notions of equality and representation”; • and “quotas are supported by international norms and spread through transnational sharing” --(Krook, 2006:303; 2007:3-4).

9. China The socialist period 1949-1976 The reform period 1976-present

10. Socialism and gender equalitywomen’s representation in tailwind • A progressive leader with progressive views of women • A socialist social transformation project which requires women’s participation • A centralized political system ensuring the command-ability of the party-state • Vacancies created by administrative order and by system reshuffle • Gender quotas? • Woman-cadres to lead women and take care women-related work • Class policy: one-third of the leadership positions goes to masses (workers and peasants) • Top-down appointment and the center’s veto to local candidate lists

11. The legacy of the 1970s • The idea of “women hold a half of the sky” • Quantitative increase of women in politics • Numbers and figures: • Class dimension: non-working class women suffered socially and politically • The problem of “newness” • Part-time schedule and lower rank status • “ Helicopter rise” at the cost of normative recruitment procedures

12. Market economy and social inequalitywomen’s representation in headwind • Market economy, growing economic disparity/inequality, vulnerable and disadvantageous positions of women in society • Competition mentality, “ability (素质suzhi) determinism” • Erosion of “danwei” welfare and collective production • Political rejection of the Cultural Revolution • Conservative gender ideologies: Neo-liberalism, New-Left, Neo Confucianism • Women’s representation suffers due to: • The adoption of the new cadre criteria • Decentralization of the cadre recruitment power • Introduction of competitive methods in political selection • Introduction of direct elections at the village and township level

13. Bottom-upoutside-inside • The All-China Women’s Federation as a watchdog of women’s rights (quasi official, quasi NGO) • Project/issue-based NGOs • University-based women’s studies academia • China signedCEDAW in 1980 • China hosted the UN fourth Women Conference in Beijing in 1995 • International ranking of female parliament members affects China’s image in the world • UN Womenand ACWF joint project ”Promoting women's political participation in China” 2011-2014

14. Some quota stipulations The 2004 Electoral Law Among the “representatives of the National People's Congress and the Local People's Congresses (there) should be an appropriate number of women representatives, and the proportion of women representatives should be gradually increased" The 2007“Decision on the number of delegates to the 11th People’s Congress and issues concerning the election of the delegates” by the fifth meeting session of the 10th People’s Congress : “the proportion of women delegates to be elected to the 11th People’s Congress should be no less than 22 %” In 2010 revised Organic Law of Village Committees by the Standing Committee of the 11th NPC “village committees must contain female members” and “women should make one third of the villagers representative committeesor more ”

15. Conclusion • The Chinese quota system does not fall neatly into any of the three categories defined internationally. It embraces all the three elements • The historical trajectory of quota adoption and endorsement in China involves all the four scenarios of international gender quota adoption. The four factors played a different role with different combination in different historical and political period. • China’s experience with gender quotas has shown both a fast and a slow track, and the entire itinerary down the road of gender quotas took a zigzag course, with one step forward (in Mao’s China) and one step backward (in post-Mao China). • The effectiveness of gender quotas in China correlates the commanding capacity of the party-state.

16. Percentage of women delegates to NPC

17. Percentage of women in Politburo and the CCP Central Committee