Work

Social Management of Gender Imbalance in China: A Holistic Governance Framework.

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: Since the 1980s, the sex ratio at birth (abbreviated as SRB) in China has been rising and has remained extremely high. With rapid social transition, gender imbalance has become one of the most significant issues of China's social management and has raised many problems and challenges. Innovation in the management principles and public policies of social management urgently needs a new perspective of holistic governance framework. Based on the latest trends in gender imbalance, using data from China's 2010 Population Census, this paper firstly reviews China's strategic policy responses and actions concerning the governance of the male-skewed SRB. With holistic governance theory, we focus on China's "Care for Girls" campaign to analyze the current public policy system. This paper then reveals fragmentation in the current management of China's gender imbalance. Finally we propose a social management framework for addressing China's gender imbalance. The public system needs to be strengthened, and the Chinese government should focus more on vulnerable groups such as forced bachelors in rural areas, and try to bring those groups into the policy framework for governance of gender imbalance. The proposed theoretical framework may help Chinese governments at various levels to design and implement improved social management of gender imbalance issues.

Source: PubMed

Authors: Li Shuzhuo, Shang Zijuan, Marcus W Feldman

Institutions: Xi'an Jiaotong University, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Gender equality, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging

Award: Center on the Demography and Economics of Health and Aging