Another Female Leader Emerges? Why Are There No Women in the Chinese Communist Party Leadership?

Only Female Member of China's 25-Person Politburo, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, Expected to Retire
Only 8 Entered Politburo in 73 Years, All Standing Committee Members Are Male
Analysis Points to Population Policy and Social Issues Detached from Reality as Causes

Chinese President Xi Jinping is delivering a work report at the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on the 16th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yunjin Kim] At the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the number of female members in the Central Political Bureau is expected to remain at one. Foreign media have expressed concerns about the reality that power within the Communist Party is concentrated among men, contrary to the Cultural Revolution's slogan that "women hold up half the sky."

The 20th CPC National Congress opened on the 16th, and the results of the leadership reshuffle are expected to be announced this weekend. With President Xi Jinping's third term virtually confirmed, whether women will enter the leadership has become another point of interest. This is because Sun Chunlan, the only female member of the CPC Central Political Bureau Standing Committee (7 members) and the broader Central Political Bureau (25 members), who currently serves as Vice Premier of the State Council, is likely to retire due to her advanced age.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, no woman has ever entered the Political Bureau Standing Committee, the core of the Communist Party's power. A total of eight women have passed through the Political Bureau, which holds the next highest power, three of whom gained their positions without competition as wives of key leaders such as Mao Zedong. The proportion of women among Central Committee members, who can be selected as Political Bureau members, is also low. Currently, among the 371 Central Committee members (including alternate members), only 30 are women, accounting for 8%.

The New York Times (NYT), Reuters, and the South China Morning Post (SCMP) explained that unlike trends in China's economy and industry, the core power of the Communist Party remains male-centered. According to a report by the global financial and investment analysis firm MSCI, the proportion of female executives in Chinese companies last year was 13.8%, more than double the 8.5% in 2016. As of last year, about 55% of founders of Chinese tech startups were women.

NYT and SCMP analyzed that women are at a disadvantage in the competition to enter the Communist Party leadership. Minglu Chen, Associate Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney, told the NYT, "Typically, experience leading local economic growth as heads of local governments is showcased to advance to key CPC positions, but women are rarely given such opportunities." Bo Jie, a New Zealand-based researcher on Chinese politics, told SCMP, "(Promotion to high-ranking positions) is a structure that relies entirely on factions rather than individual ability."

Reuters and France 24 pointed out that the low political representation of women acts as a major limitation to the advancement of women's rights. It is difficult for policies considering women's realities to emerge from an all-male leadership. Valarie Tan, a researcher at the Mercator Institute for Chinese Studies, told Reuters, "(The absence of female leaders) connects to social issues such as women's rights, birth rates, gender wage gaps, and domestic violence." Tan told France 24, "(For example) policies to increase birth rates are organized mainly around subsidies without considering the fundamental reasons why Chinese women do not want to have more children."

There is also analysis that women's rights have further regressed since President Xi Jinping took office. Reuters criticized the current government for emphasizing traditional gender roles for women to overcome crises such as China's low birth rate and aging population. Examples of the practical regression of women's rights include intensified censorship of the Me Too movement and bans on medically unnecessary abortions. In the World Economic Forum (WEF) Gender Gap Index, China ranked 69th in 2012, the year before Xi took office, but dropped to 102nd this year.

Meanwhile, it is widely predicted that the number of female members in the 20th Central Political Bureau will remain at one with the entry of Xian Yiqin, Party Secretary of Guizhou Province. Secretary Xian is currently the only female provincial-level Party Secretary in China and is of the Bai ethnic minority, which is expected to further highlight minority representation. However, some speculate that no women may be appointed among the 25 members, drawing more attention to the Political Bureau appointments to be announced this weekend.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.