Women’s participation in Chinese village self-governance: Still limited
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Zhengxu Wang
and Weina Dai |
In the last thirty years, China has implemented a system of village self-government that policymakers and many scholars say has brought significant improvements in women’s political status. In the current issue of Governance, Zhengxu Wang of the University of Nottingham and Weina Dai of Renmin University examine women’s participation in village self-governance in Rudong county in Eastern China.
They find that women vote in village elections but that their representation in self-governance bodies remains low, while their sense of empowerment remains limited. “Rudong’s story is highly representative of other areas of China,” the authors say. “A wide range of institutional, socioeconomic, structural and cultural factors still prevent a more equal representation of women.” Wang and Dai discuss policy responses that would promote “a stronger presence of women in local governance.” Free access to the article.
