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A girl wearing peony decorations visits a garden in Heze city, Shandong province, on April 8. Gender stereotypes can have an impact on a daughter’s educational achievement, which is usually a precondition for economic achievement. Photo: Xinhua
Opinion
Xueqing Zhang
Xueqing Zhang

Gender bias can be a stumbling block even for China’s beloved only-child daughters

  • Parents’ different expectations of boys and girls matter, with some research suggesting that the parents of a son are more willing to invest in the education and comfort of their child than is true for the parents of a daughter

According to the World Economic Forum’s newly released Global Gender Gap Report 2021, China again has the most skewed sex ratio at birth in the world, at 1.13. That is to say, 113 boys are born for every 100 girls, which provides solid evidence for the preference for sons in contemporary China.

In China, a son is seen as insurance for continuing the family line, and the preference has persisted through the years, even as urbanisation and economic development has brought many social changes to the nation.

For the girls who are born, gender bias continues to overshadow their lives as they grow up. Research in China shows that parental preference for sons could lead to unequal educational opportunities given to boys and girls.

One 2005 study found that, in rural areas, the daughters of parents with a stated preference for a son were less likely to attend school and more likely to start work younger. Often, while their male peers were still in school, these girls were already working as providers for their families. The lack of a formal education limited their life choices.

It is commonly believed that a preference for sons prevails only among poor and rural families, while girls in cities receive more equal treatment, the beneficiaries of China’s modernisation. In addition, the introduction of the one-child policy in 1978, lifted only in 2015, has had the unintended consequence of empowering daughters in urban China.

Primary students in Zhuwan township in Chuzhou city, Anuhui province, talk with a former teacher on March 23. In rural areas, the daughters of parents with a stated preference for a son were less likely to attend school and more likely to start work younger. Photo: Xinhua

As a doctoral student, I acknowledge my privilege as the only daughter in my family growing up in the city. I have always had my parents’ full support to pursue educational success and material well-being.

But not all daughters who are an only child share my good fortune; some can be a victim of the son preference bias, too.

While only-child daughters of urban parents receive more support than rural girls or urban girls with brothers, they still enjoy less parental investment than only-child sons.

Research in 2018 found that having a son triggers Chinese parents’ passion for money-saving and, in turn, increases household savings, while having a daughter does not have such effect. This is because of the traditional gender norm that expects the man to be the breadwinner in a marriage.

Therefore, for the son’s future competitiveness in the marriage market, parents who have a son put in extra effort to earn enough to buy a property. This puts only-child daughters in an inferior position with regard to wealth accumulation.

Emotional and material support aside, parents’ gendered expectations can also affect their child’s life achievements.

A wedding couple poses for photos near the Forbidden City in Beijing on March 28. Society often views women’s “real success” as having a happy marriage and taking good care of children. Photo: AP

Last year when I got admitted to the University of British Columbia as a PhD student, my father was supportive, but also told me he did not expect me to pursue a doctoral degree.

He admitted thinking, “Why does my daughter need to work so hard to be extraordinary instead of living an easier life as an ordinary woman?”

Such gender stereotypes can have an impact on a daughter’s educational achievements, which are usually a precondition for economic achievement.

Meanwhile, some parents believe it is for their daughter’s own good because society often views women’s “real success” as having a happy marriage and taking good care of children.

Gender equality in China still has a long way to go: report

Nevertheless, parents assume that sons will need to succeed economically when they grow up. That’s why parents won’t lower their expectations and investment in their son’s education. 

I am not saying that parents’ preference for a son and their investment determine a daughter’s future. However, they can create a “situational belief”, that is, despite no difference in innate abilities between sons and daughters, the gender norm may become a consensually held belief, which directs girls’ daily behaviour and fosters gender inequality. 

Gender is an institution deeply embedded in everyday life and social organisations. Even “privileged and lucky” only-child daughters like myself cannot get away from the patriarchal society’s son preference.

Gender inequality is a problem for everyone. Therefore, instead of looking on coldly, we need to eliminate survivor bias and take effective action.

Xueqing Zhang is a PhD student in sociology at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on health and gender inequality, and social stratification

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