Progress, no matter how innovative, can never escape the shadows of the past. A step forward can always be traced back to a beginning, and as simple as this statement is, it applies to everything that has a history.
In the case of China, the nation has shocked the world with its growth. There is no denying that its recent economic, technologic, and industrial pursuits have yielded impressive results. All of these developments can be traced back to Mao Zedong’s volatile reign. Mao once proclaimed, “women hold up half the sky.” The Chairman’s words, once used to bring women into the workforce, have manifested into a perverted form of neo-Sino-feminism.
The preservation of traditional perspectives on gender is at war with a new wave of women ready to break the glass ceiling. Despite rising influence from the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF), the organization has pitted women against themselves and tradition. In particular, 2007 in the ACWF’s history marked the skyrocketing popularity of a term that practically sneers at career-oriented women: 剩女 (shèngnü), or “leftover women.” The slang term has substantial impact on twenty-something year old women, going so far as to discourage them from pursuing a career and instead settle down and focus solely on getting a husband and raising a family. Such incentive would have negative impact on the economy. While the short run goal is to get as many women to birth more children to prepare for the repercussions of a severely aging society, the long run impacts point to economic drawbacks. Women are encouraged to prioritize marriage and family over career and independence, which would decrease China’s labor participation rate, which would then take qualified, educated workers away from jobs. With fewer workers, the economy must find a way to stay afloat in the long run. By forcing women out of the picture, the Middle Kingdom is only shooting itself in the foot and binding itself to the past.