Gender Inequality: U.S. and China Compared

Global Gender Gap Rankings

The United States ranks 31st and China ranks 60th in gender disparities among more than 200 surveyed countries worldwide (Hausmann et al., 2009). The Global Gender Gap Index serves as a framework for reflecting the magnitude and scope of gender disparities and the progress made in addressing them. It interprets disparities according to four categories: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. The Index was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006 to create greater awareness of gender gap challenges and to elicit initiatives aimed at closing or reducing that gap. The initiative suggests that countries with low rankings fail to use the full potential of half their population, reflecting a misallocation of human resources and undermining the competitive potential of the neglected half. The results measure the extent of gender equality rather than women's empowerment specifically. Data presented in the Report come from publicly available and dependable sources, including the World Development Indicators of the World Bank, the Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme, and the annual Executive Opinion Survey of the World Economic Forum. Although no country has achieved complete gender equality, the Nordic countries ranked highest. The top five are Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and New Zealand (Hausmann et al., 2009).

In economic participation and opportunity, the U.S. ranks 17th and China 38th (Hausmann et al., 2009). In educational attainment, the U.S. ranks 1st while China ranks 87th. In health and survival, the U.S. ranks 40th while China ranks 130th. In political empowerment, the U.S. ranks 61st while China ranks 62nd. The Survey interprets these results as the U.S. falling in labor force participation among women in professional and technical positions — a decline that negates gains made by women lawmakers, senior officials, and managers. The U.S. also performed poorly in women's political empowerment, falling from 56th in the previous survey to 61st in the most recent one. China, by contrast, scored relatively higher in economic participation and opportunity and educational attainment, yet remains among the lowest-ranking countries in health and survival due to a disproportionate sex ratio at birth — a factor closely connected to the "missing girls of China" phenomenon (Hausmann et al., 2009).

Having dropped to 61st position in political empowerment, the U.S. falls behind South Africa, Cuba, Colombia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Lesotho, and Namibia (Jordans, 2006). Women account for only 13% of seats in Congress. The survey indicates that while many American women are employed, substantial income gaps between the genders persist. These two situations together explain the country's low ranking. China, as one of the two most populous countries on earth, faces a different but equally serious challenge: Chinese families have traditionally preferred sons, a preference that has led to mass abortions of female fetuses and female infanticide (Hausmann et al., 2009).

Gender Equality in China: The 'Missing Girls' Phenomenon

China's one-child policy, instituted in 1978, was designed to contain the country's overwhelming population, promote economic growth, and preserve the environment (Wetzstein, 2010). The policy proved so effective that Chinese boys now outnumber Chinese girls by the millions, creating a severe sexual imbalance. This demographic distortion has attracted opportunistic traffickers who exploit Chinese girls and women through forced marriages and the sex trade. The disappearance of what amounts to "an entire nation of women and girls" was described by Reggie Littlejohn, founder of Women's Rights Without Frontiers, as gendercide. A 2009 study published in the British Medical Journal reported that in 2005 there were 32 million more Chinese men than women below the age of 20, with an additional 1 million extra males born in that year alone. This figure is consistent with a prediction by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which had forecast a surplus of 30 to 50 million men.

Sex-selective abortions reflect son-preferential ideologies that are extremely difficult to uproot. Chinese parents traditionally want a son to carry the family name, inherit family property, support them in old age, and conduct funeral ceremonies. Sons belong to their father's lineage, whereas daughters are incorporated into their husbands' families upon marriage. The one-child policy therefore compels couples to choose between their own future security and the possibility of having daughters (Wetzstein, 2010).

Conclusion

The United States and China, as today's political and economic world leaders, still suffer from the consequences of gender inequality and inequity. Combined economic, sociological, and historical factors hamper and resist the achievement of equality between the sexes. Male dominance entrenched over thousands of years will be difficult to eliminate or even minimize. It will not be an easy achievement, but it remains an ideal objective that every person on earth should pursue without relenting.

References

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Gaddis, R. (2010). Gender equality in the United States. Associated Content. Retrieved February 20, 2010, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/pop_print.shtml

Hausmann, R., et al. (2009). The global gender gap report. World Economic Forum. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/report2009.pdf

Jordans, F. (2006). U.S. slips in gender equality survey. Associated Press; Diverse Education.com. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://diverseeducation.com/article/10122

State Council Information Office. (2005). Gender equality and women's development in China. China Daily. Retrieved February 15, 2010, from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005_08/24

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