China has most female billionaires, but it’s not enough – Zhang Lijia

Most seven out of ten self-made female billionaires are Chinese, says the Hurun rich list, and author Zhang Lijia explains in The Guardian why despite that achievement women entrepreneurs still have a long march to go.

Zhang Lijia:

Yet despite the impressive achievements, Chinese female entrepreneurs lag behind their male counterparts. Only 11% of the richest people in China are women; with women representing only about 20% of all entrepreneurs.

It’s true that in 1949, when Mao’s Chinese Communists, took power, women were granted equal rights and opportunities. Yet some old habits die hard and the business world remains male-centred.

Yet for women, the most pressing problems include participation in politics, which seriously lags behind other countries. Only 21.4% of the representatives in our parliament, the National People’s Congress, are women, which is short of the 30% of female political participation set in 1995 by the UN, and a woman’s promotion in the government too often still depends on her male bosses – who tend to give women subservient roles.

So sadly, there’s still a long march before women can truly hold up half of the sky.

More in The Guardian

Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Zhang Lijia on China’s moral crisis at Storify.