What the women of China earn, what they deserve, and what they’re missing
Guidelines, laws, statutes, policy statements—the structure for female equality in the workplace is there. But is it working? China suffers many of the same ethical and practical tribulations of gender equality in the office as elsewhere in the world, but the Chinese workplace is a very special monster. As China builds for a century of success, the concept of equal pay for equal work for women seems to take a back seat, and trumping traditional gender roles can be difficult, especially in a newly-urbanized economy that hasn’t quite settled. And, of course, beyond the question of discrimination is one of harassment; changing laws mean nothing when minds remain stubbornly stagnant. The 21st century economy has been defined by the “Chinese miracle”, and the women who shaped it want what’s due.
Hatty Liu is the former managing editor of The World of Chinese, and an award-winning communications researcher. Born in China, and raised in China, Canada, and the US, she leverages her cross-cultural identity to create more empathetic knowledge across national boundaries.
