Gender equity and women's empowerment.

This article focuses on the improvements in women's status in China. The trend started as early as in the 1950s, when the Chinese Constitution declared that women should enjoy equal rights with men in political, economic, cultural, social and family life, and the legitimate rights of women and children are protected by law. This principle is also reflected in other laws and regulations such as Marriage Law and Law on Health of Mother and Infant. In addition, the Law on Protection of Rights and Interests of Women, which came into effect in 1992, marked a new stage of legislation on women's rights. Over the past few years, women have participated in political affairs, in which they accounted for 16.8% of the total number of representatives in the 15th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, 21.8% in the ninth National People's Congress, and 15.5% in the ninth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. However, this does not mean that women have gained an equal right of participation with their male counterparts. Moreover, although the women's education level is rising constantly, it still compares unfavorably with men. Another indicator of enhanced women's status is the great number of women in the workforce, and in their increasing capacity to participate in household decision-making.