“Women Hold Half the Sky”: Gender Gap in the Economic Development of Modern China

Abstract

The relevance of the topic stems from the conflicting attitudes towards gender equality in Chinese society. On the one hand, China positions itself as an egalitarian state, but on the other hand, gender discrimination persists in the country. The article analyses discrimination against Chinese women in the labor market, which not only hinders women’s participation in public life, but also acts as a factor hindering China’s economic development. In addition, the reasons for gender gap in PRC’s economic development are examined, including unequal wages based on gender, gender segregation of the labor market, unequal age of retirement for women and men in China, etc. This study is based on a review of contemporary Russian and foreign research, as well as the analysis of annual reports of the UN and the International Labor Organization (2017 - 2021) reflecting the level of gender equality in China’s economic development.