Traditionally, women have been politically underrepresented in contrast to their male counterparts but in the modern era, this trend is evolving. More and more women are being politically elected to be heads of state and government, however, increasing women’s representation in politics remains a critical issue in achieving gender equality in many societies. In China, the National People’s Congress (NPC) is the national legislature and as a unicameral legislature, it has the power to legislate and oversee the operations of the government and the power to elect major officers of the state. Yet according to the IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union), as of September 2015, China ranks 58th among 190 countries for women in national parliaments. As of 2013, there were 699 female deputies among 2,987, 23.4% of the delegation. This is a significant change from 1954, in which 12% of the delegates were female. The number of female representation in the NPC has been steadily increasing. Annually, there has been a 0.95% average increase in the number of female delegates per year. The greatest increase was between 1959 (the 2nd congress) and 1975 (the 4th congress) in which there was an additional 503 female delegates (10.4% increase). Yet considering how rapidly China has developed in terms of economic progress, its political system still leaves much to be desired. The gender equality for women in China is far behind its counterparts. A potential cause of this phenomena may be that China has been a traditionally patriarchal society. Mencius, an esteemed Chinese philosopher, outlined three subordinates. A woman was to be obedient to her father in youth, her husband in maturity, and her son in old age. This is the same philosophy that says men govern the outer world whereas women govern the home. Contemporary problems found in 21st century China like the majority of political positions being held by men are a combination of features of this patriarchy. This type of unequal system continues to enforces gender roles and is oppressive to women in both the political sphere and social and economic spheres. This phenomena is not unique to China; several of its neighbors are struggling to increase gender equality in politics. The lower house of the Japanese National Congress currently holds 38 women, or 7.9% of the total number of delegates. South Korea, too, has dismal numbers for women in politics, however, South Korea’s female leader, President Park Geun-Hye, is expected to encourage female involvement in politics. Several Western countries seem to be doing better in terms of offering political opportunities to women. In the 2012 U.S. elections, the greatest number of female incumbents in history were up for re-election in the Senate. There were ten female Democrats and one Republic nominated for the Senate. Most developed western countries have had female heads of state. Foreign female prime ministers include Canada’s Kim Campbell, the UK’s Margaret Thatcher, Australia’s Julia Gillard, Israel’s Golda Meir, and France’s Édith Cresson. Other female national leaders include President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, and President Isabel Perón of Argentina. Even Pakistan and Turkey, countries often viewed as particularly patriarchal societies, have had female prime ministers. A major trend also shows women increasingly holding top profile portfolios for their governments in non-traditional areas for women in government, such as national security and defense, finance, revenue and foreign relations whereas in the past, women in cabinet held “soft portfolios” like healthcare, education, and human rights. According to the International Labor Organization, in Sweden, ministers are 52% female and their parliament consists of 43% women. Their public benefits assume a dual-income family where both men and women are working and contributing at home, and consequently, they have one of the highest female employment in the European Union. In Rwanda, the parliament is approximately 64% female. The female legislation helped gain financial independence by passing laws allowing women to own land and open bank accounts. Whether it's an effect of the makeup of parliament or a correlation, Rwanda has a better maternal health care and children’s nutrition program than most other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Evidently, countries all around the world are reaping the benefits of having female representation in government. Still China is conspicuous for having only male heads of state and a male-dominated Congress. But perhaps what is more significant than the lack of female lawmakers in China is the absence of a powerful female role model. In 2012, the BBC published an article called “Where are the Powerful Chinese Women”? They claimed, “Female leaders are a rare breed in China's traditionally male-dominated society. The most famous women in Chinese history - the Empress Dowager Cixi and Jiang Qing, wife of Mao Zedong - were the partners of powerful men”. It may prove beneficial for young Chinese women then to observe top female leadership like former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, or German Chancellor Angela Merkel. International organizations like the UN Women may offer other solutions for China. The United Nations has a history of commitment to women’s representation. Public policies like the Beijing Platform for Action calls for removing barriers to equal participation. The Millennium Development Goals measure progress towards gender equality in proportion of women in parliamentary seats. Programs like these are effective because it advocates political parties and governments to do their part in empowering women. Initiatives like these that aim to encourage young women AND men to advocate for gender equality can significantly impact the future political landscape in China as well as the rest of the world.

This article was written by Joanne Chun. Please contact [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: atsix via Flickr