Gender Inequality in China: New Evidence and Policy Directions

China’s economic boom, now in its fourth decade, has created an unprecedented number of employment opportunities. Yet in China as elsewhere, a gender pay gap persists, and many Chinese women continue to bear the burden of responsibility for child care, household duties, and care for the elderly. CSSW’s newest professor, Qin Gao, joins with two economist colleagues, Drs. Xiao-yuan Dong and Terry Sicular, to consider factors that could help to close this gap, such as changing care arrangements and women’s education. Economist Carl Riskin, author of the first two UNDP National Human Development Reports for China, provides commentary.