Statistical Monitoring Report of China National Program for Women’s Development (2021-2030) in 2022
National Bureau of Statistics of China, December 2023
In order to fully reflect the progress in the implementation of the China National Program for Women’s Development (2021-2030) (hereinafter referred to as the Program), the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), based on the statistical and monitoring index system and data of relevant departments pertaining to the Program, made a comprehensive analysis of its implementation in 2022 in respect of eight areas including health, education, economy, decision-making and management, social security, family building, environment and law. The results showed that the Program was implemented in a smooth way in 2022. Women’s health condition and education level continued to rise; the quality of social security continued to upgrade; the protection of labor rights was further strengthened; and the legal protection system of rights and interests for women continued to improve.
I. Women and Health
(I) The maternal health level continued to improve. With efforts to boost the maternal and child health promotion project under the Healthy China Initiative and further to improve the maternal and child health service system, the maternal health level was further improved. In 2022, the maternal mortality rate was 15.7 per 100,000, declining by 2.5% compared to that in 2021. The maternal mortality rate in urban areas dropped to 14.3 per 100,000, by 7.1%; while the maternal mortality rate in rural areas amounted to 16.6 per 100,000, basically flat from 2021.
(II) Basic medical and health services throughout childbirth continued to strengthen. The action plan for child health improvement from 2021 to 2025 has been fully implemented. The coverage of maternal health services has been further expanded. The premarital medical examination rate was 74.8 percent in 2022, with an increase of 3.9 percentage points compared to 2021; The rate for the management of pregnant and lying-in women and the rate for prenatal screening were 93.6 percent and 88.7 percent, respectively, representing increases of 0.7 and 3.0 percentage points; The hospital delivery rate for pregnant women continued to remain at 99.9 percent; The postpartum visit rate was 96.5 percent, with an increase of 0.5 percentage points.
(III) Mother-to-child transmission of HIV steadily declined. The Action Plan for Eliminating Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B (2022-2025) was formulated and implemented to promote the establishment of a new service model for eliminating mother-to-child transmission. The mother-to-child transmission rate of HIV was 3.0 percent in 2022, with a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to 2021. The antiviral medication rate for pregnant women who infected with HIV and their infants was 98.7 percent and 99.6 percent respectively, representing increases of 1.2 and 0.1 percentage points.
II. Women and Education
(I) The gender gap in compulsory education has been basically eliminated. The balanced development of compulsory education has been proactively promoted. Great efforts have been made to improve and enhance weak spot in compulsory education for ensuring that girls have equal access to fair and high-quality compulsory education. The net enrollment rate for girls and boys of school age in primary education in 2022 was 99.9 percent for both, basically indicating no significant gender gap. The number of girls enrolled in the nine-year compulsory education stage was 74.089 million in 2022, with an increase of 420,000 compared to 2021; It accounted for 46.7 percent of the total enrolled students, basically remaining unchanged from 2021.
(II) Women’ equal access to senior high school education[1] has been continuously consolidated. The“14th Five-Year” Action Plan for Promotion of the Development of Regular High Schools at County Level has been implemented in depth. The resources of regular high schools at county level have been expanded. In addition, the universal access to high school and secondary vocational education has been promoted, with a particular focus on ensuring increased opportunities for women to receive high school and secondary vocational education. The number of female students in high school and secondary vocational education was 21.177 million in 2022, accounting for 46.7 percent of all enrolled students, which remained relatively unchanged from 2021. The number of female students in regular high schools was 13.530 million, with an increase of 448,000 compared to 2021. It accounted for 49.9 percent of the total enrollment in regular high schools, indicating a relatively balanced gender ratio.
(III) The number of women receiving all types of vocational education has increased. The implementation of Vocational Education Law of the People’s Republic of China and Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Construction of Modern Vocational Education System helps strongly promote the diversified development of vocational education and increase the enrollment of female students in various types of vocational education. The number of female students in secondary vocational education[2] was 7.507 million in 2022, with an increase of 241,000 compared to 2021; It accounted for 42.1 percent of the total enrolled students, representing an increase of 0.3 percentage points. For higher vocational and undergraduate vocational education, the number of female students was 7.915 million, with an increase of 434,000; It accounted for 46.7 percent of the total enrolled students, remaining unchanged from 2021.
(IV) The gender ratio in higher education is essentially balanced. The level of higher education popularization has further increased. The rights of women to receive higher education have been strongly protected. The number of female students in higher education was 29.033 million in 2022, with an increase of 1.225 million compared to 2021. It accounted for 50.0 percent of the total enrolled students, indicating a balanced gender ratio. There were 1.871 million female graduate students, accounting for 51.2 percent of all graduate students; The number of female students learning in general colleges [3] and female students learning in adult colleges was 18.312 million and 5.314 million respectively, with a proportion of 50.0 percent and 56.9 percent respectively.
(V) The gender gap in scientific literacy is gradually narrowing. Opinions on Further Strengthening the Popularization of Science and Technology in the New Era were issued and implemented for optimizing and improving the construction of the scientific literacy system, accelerating the enhancement of citizens’ scientific literacy, and reducing the gender gap in scientific literacy. The gender gap in scientific literacy[4] was 3.8 percentage points in 2022, which decreased by 0.5 percentage points compared to 2020[5].
III. Women and the Economy
(I) The share of women of all employed people has remained above 40 percent. To further give high priority to employment, multiple measures have been taken to stabilize and expand job positions for resolutely preventing and correcting employment discrimination so that strong protection of women’s employment rights can be realized. There were 320 million females employed nationwide in 2022, accounting for 43.2 percent of the total workforce. For urban non-private sector employees, there were 67.664 million females, representing 40.5 percent of the workforce.
(II) Labor protection and health security for female employees have been strengthened. The Law on the Protection Rights and Interests of Women and the Special Provisions on the Labor Protection of Female Employees have been carried out in depth. Extensive labor safety and health education have been conducted, which helps strongly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of female employees, as well as ensure the strong protection of special rights of female employees. The proportion[6] of enterprises implementing the Special Provisions on the Labor Protection of Female Employees was 72.9 percent in 2022; The occupational health literacy level of female employees[7] was 53.3 percent, which was 1.1 percentage points higher than that of males.
IV. Participation of Women in Decision-Making and Management
(I) More efforts have been made to train and select female cadres. Great importance has been attached to the training and selection of female cadres. The significant role of female cadres has been highlighted and the steady improvement of participation of women in politics has been promoted. In 2022, the ratio of leading bodies with female official cadres in governments at provincial, municipal and county levels was 11.2 percent, 15.2 percent and 13.5 percent respectively, representing increases of 1.1, 1.2, and 1.2 percentage points compared to 2021; The proportion of teams with female cadres in government departments at provincial, municipal and county levels was 55.2 percent, 57.3 percent and 52.8 percent respectively, with an increase of 1.6, 1.6 and 2.0 percentage points respectively.
(II) Participation of women in corporate decision-making and management is more widespread. The reform of the personnel system of enterprises has been constantly deepened so as to make the career development path easier for female talents, and foster and select outstanding women to participate in the decision-making and management departments of enterprises. In 2022, the proportion of female staff directors and staff supervisors in enterprises was 37.1 percent, and 40.8 percent respectively, with 0.3 percentage points higher than that in 2021, respectively. The proportion of women in employee congresses was 30.3 percent.
(III) Women’s participation in community-level social governance has been proactive. Great efforts have been made to guide women’s participation in community-level democratic management and consultation. Attention has been paid to training and selecting women cadres at community level. In 2022, the proportion of women in neighborhood committees and the heads of neighborhood committees was 54.3 percent and 41.3 percent respectively, basically remaining unchanged from 2021. The proportion of women in village committees and the heads of village committees was 26.1 percent and 10.9 percent respectively.
(IV) Women have been playing greater role in social organization. The training of female professionals and management talents has been strengthened in social organizations. The discovery and cultivation of female leaders in social organizations have been emphasized. In 2022, the proportion of women working in social organizations was 41.5 percent, 2.3 percentage points higher than in 2021; Women accounted for 26.7 percent of heads of social organizations, remaining unchanged from 2021.
V. Women and Social Security
(I) The proportion of women participating in basic medical insurance has increased. Universal coverage has been consolidated and enhanced. In addition, the reform of the medical security system has been deepened. By the end of 2022, 650 million females were covered by basic medical insurance, accounting for 48.5 percent of the total with 0.2 percentage points higher than the end of 2021. Among them, the number of women participating in basic medical insurance for employees is 170 million, an increase of 1.876 million; It accounted for 47.8% of the total participants in basic medical insurance for employees. The number of women participating in basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents was 480 million, representing 48.8% of the total participants in basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents.
(II) Women’s participation in the basic old-age insurance system continues to expand. The old-age insurance system has been continuously enhanced with further expanded coverage, and the number of women participating in the basic old-age insurance has been increasing. By the end of 2022, 510 million women participated in basic old-age insurance, an increase of 20.965 million over the end of 2021. Among them, 240 million women participated in basic pension insurance for urban workers and 270 million women participated in basic pension insurance for urban and rural residents, an increase of 12.275 million and 8.691 million respectively.
(III) The number of women covered by maternity, unemployment and work-related injury insurance has been continuously increased. The Guiding Opinions on Further Improving and Implementing Active Fertility Supporting Measures have been issued and implemented so that the payment of maternity insurance premiums for those receiving unemployment insurance benefits can be conducted. Coordinating efforts have been made to ensure comprehensive coverage of work-related injury insurance and unemployment insurance, which helps safeguard the various rights of women. By the end of 2022, the number of women covered by maternity insurance was 108 million, an increase of 3.253 million over the end of 2021; The number of people covered by unemployment insurance reached 99.492 million, an increase of 1.327 million; The number of people covered by work-related injury insurance reached 112 million, an increase of 5.828 million.
(IV) The level of assistance for women in need continues to improve. The guarantee of social assistance has been continuously strengthened. The protection and guarantee of women in need has been continuously increased for enhancing the level of protection for women in need. In 2022, per capita subsistence allowances were 752.3 yuan per month for urban residents and 582.1 yuan per month for rural residents, up 5.7 percent and 9.8 percent over 2021 respectively; The number of recipients of subsistence allowances and people living in extreme poverty in urban and rural areas altogether was 45.015 million, among whom 19.526 million were women, accounting for 43.4 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points.
VI. Women and Family Building
(I) Efforts to promote marriage and family have continued to intensify. The implementation of the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Marriage and Family Counseling and Education in the New Era has been conducted in depth for strengthening and improving marriage and family counseling and education so as to guide the establishment and maintenance of equal, harmonious, and civilized marital and family relationships. By the end of 2022, 50.8 percent of marriage registration agencies had provided guidance on marriage and family services.
(II) The development of family traditions and education continues to deepen. The construction of family civilization continues to deepen. The project of “Happiness to All Families” has been implemented in depth to foster new trends of family civilization. In 2022, women’s federations at all levels commended 42,000 Five-virtue Families and recommended 1.668 million of the most beautiful families at all levels. Throughout the year, 113,000 sessions of family education and virtue promotion lectures were conducted, directly engaging 62.438 million people.
VII. Women and the Environment
(I) The safety of drinking water has been steadily consolidated and improved. The construction of rural water supply projects has been strengthened and the standardization of centralized drinking water source sites has been comprehensively enhanced at town level and above, which helps ensure the safety of drinking water for both urban and rural areas. In 2022, 95.9 percent of drinking water sources in cities at prefecture level and above met standards, 1.7 percentage points higher than that in 2021; Access to tap water in rural areas was 87.4 percent, 3.4 percentage points higher than that in 2021.
(II) The availability of sanitary latrines in rural areas has continuously increased. The Five-Year Action Plan for Improving Rural Living Environment (2021-2025) has been further implemented. Solid progress in the toilet revolution in rural areas has been made. The rural toilet revolution has been actively promoted, ensuring that households in rural areas voluntarily upgrade their toilets. As a result, the basic infrastructure of rural living environment continues to improve. By the end of 2022, more than 73 percent of rural residents had access to sanitary toilets, an increase of about 3 percentage points over the end of 2021.
VIII. Women and the Law
(I) Efforts to prevent and stop domestic violence have been intensified. The Opinions on Strengthening the Implementation of the System for Personal Safety Protection Orders were issued and implemented to further refine and improve mechanisms for detecting and responding to domestic violence. It aims to increase awareness among women about utilizing judicial means to protect their legitimate rights and interests. In 2022, 3,792 habeas corpus orders were issued for women.
(II) Illegal and criminal activities targeting women are resolutely fought. The Action Plan against Human Trafficking (2021-2030) has been fully implemented for adhering to and improving the long-term anti-trafficking mechanism that integrates prevention, crackdown, assistance, resettlement and rehabilitation. In 2022, department of public safety launched a special campaign to crack down on the crime of abducting and trafficking women and children, and solved 970 cases of abducting and trafficking women throughout the year; 37,000 cases of rape were solved; A total of 17,000 cases of organizing, forcing, luring, sheltering or introducing women to prostitution were cracked.
(III) Access to public legal services for women has been continuously expanded. The national judicial assistance system has been continuously enhanced to give full play to the functional role of women’s federations in representing and safeguarding women’s legitimate rights and interests. By the end of 2022, there were 3,019 legal aid organizations and 72,000 legal aid work sites in China. In 2022, legal aid was provided in 318,000 cases for women; Juridical assistance was provided for 45,000 women by people’s courts, people’s procuratorate and the juridical administration system. Women’s federations at or above county level dealt with 201,000 complaints from women and children.
Notes:
[1] Senior high school education includes regular senior high schools, regular technical secondary schools, technical secondary schools for adults, vocational high schools, affiliated secondary vocational classes, technician training schools and the Secondary Vocational Department of the Open University of China.
[2] Secondary vocational education includes regular technical secondary schools, technical secondary schools for adults, vocational high schools, affiliated secondary vocational classes, and technician training schools.
[3] General undergraduate and college education includes both the regular undergraduate education and the vocational undergraduate and college education.
[4] The gender gap in scientific literacy refers to the difference between the percentage of the population with scientific literacy among all male citizens surveyed at 18-69 and the percentage of the population with scientific literacy among all female citizens surveyed at 18-69. “With scientific literacy” means worshipping the scientific spirit, setting up scientific thought, acquiring basic scientific approaches, understanding necessary scientific and technological knowledge, and being capable of applying them in making judgments and addressing practical problems.
[5] A sampling survey of Chinese citizens’ scientific literacy was not performed in 2021.
[6] The proportion of enterprises implementing the Special Provisions on the Labor Protection of Female Employees refers to the proportion of the number of enterprises that have observed labor protection in “four periods” for female employees or the provisions on the banned range of labor for female employees in the total number of enterprises surveyed.
[7] The occupational health literacy level of female employees refers to the proportion of the number of female employees with basic occupational health literacy in key industries and fields in the secondary and tertiary industries surveyed within the number of all female employees. The criterion for judging the acquisition of basic occupational health literacy is that the female employees in key industries and fields in the secondary and tertiary industries surveyed obtained 80% and above of the full score in the Personal Questionnaire for Monitoring and Surveying Occupational Health Literacy of Key Populations across China, under which circumstances, the employees are considered to have acquired the basic occupational health literacy.