Outcome CHN_D_2.3

(Link to SN Output 1.1 and 1.2) Relative poverty and multi-dimensional poverty are reduced, and more coordinated development leads to reduction in gaps between rural and urban areas and among regions, as more people in China, including left-behind groups, benefit from sustainable, innovation-driven and shared high-quality economic development, with enhanced access to economic opportunities arising through innovation, entrepreneurship and rural revitalization, enjoying decent work, sustainable livelihoods, and the right to develop equally for both women and men.

In 2022, UN Women China has made significant progress towards the intended outcome results. More people in China, including left-behind groups, benefit from sustainable, innovation-driven and shared high-quality economic development, with enhanced access to economic opportunities arising through innovation, entrepreneurship, and rural revitalization, enjoying decent work, sustainable livelihoods, and the right to develop equally for both women and men. UN Women has continuously promoted gender equal employment, by supporting private sector companies to promote gender responsive policies and practices based on women’s empowerment principles (WEPs), mainly through WeEmpowerAsia, a programme supported by and partnered with EU, and ‘A place called home-Wecare’, a project funded by and in partnership with IKEA China. As of December 2022, 352 companies from the Chinese mainland have committed to promoting women’s decent work by signing the WEPs. Among them, 30 have integrated gender into their corporate policies and practices under UN Women’s support on implement gender responsive policies and practices in line with Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). This benefits over 100,000 employees, including at least 50,000 women. Strategic partnership is developed between UN Women and ILO, China Enterprise Confederation, ICT and Textile industry associations. UN Women has made good efforts to benefit women owned SMEs, through capacity development, especially on digital literacy and enhancing their access to finance and market, through 'Supporting Women to recover from socio-economic impacts of COVID-19' a programme working with All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF) and WeEmpowerAsia. Over 550 women-owned SMEs and 6,000 women employees in Wuhan and Tianjin (among the COVID hardest-hit regions in China) directly benefitted from all-round model recovery support schemes including capacity development, training, dedicated business support and cash grants in 2022. A total of 53 women-owned SMEs increased their income by 70,000 CNY on average. The trainings on gender equality, WEPs, as well as on how to enhance SMEs’ access to market, have been provided to 1052 women entrepreneurs from SMEs. In 2022, UN Women and the Ant Foundation launched the Together Digital five-year partnership, with the purpose to support over 30,000 women to establish, maintain and expand their businesses in the digital era. UN Women continues to support rural women economically with enhancing their climate resilience through programme. Partnering with IFAD, Hunan Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Hunan Women’s Federation, we are working to improve the well-being of over 320,000 rural population. A comprehensive gender-disaggregated survey of 1,500 households showed that women’s unpaid care burden, less access to information and services, and lack of opportunities to move up along value chain, hindered their economic empowerment. Informed by these findings, gender-responsive interventions are being implemented, including climate-smart irrigation to sustain agriculture and public services to prevent natural disasters. A total of 26,824 rural women are benefited from infrastructure construction and public services. In addition, the office is able to secure new programme in Qinghai focusing on advancing rural women’s access to clean energy and strengthening their actions in green rural governance with support from ClimateWorks Foundation. This will help strengthen the implementation of commitments made in Action Coalition on Feminist Action for Climate Justice by engaging with women led CSOs and cooperatives in the context of China’s rural revitalization and green transition. UN Women China convenes partners for collective climate actions through policy dialogues and public advocacies. Aligning with CSW 66 theme 'Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow', UN Women and Center for China and Globalization, a leading global think tank, hosted a high-level policy dialogue on 'Biodiversity and Climate Change from a Gender Perspective ' on 8 Mar 2022. The dialogue brought over 60 representatives including 3 Chinese ministries, 3 ambassadors, and 4 UN agencies, reaching over 320,000 participants via livestreaming. The dialogue fostered a strategic partnership between UN Women and Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning (CAEP) of Ministry of Ecology and Environment, for joint research to look at China’s climate and environmental policies through gender lens. The initial findings were shared on the Gender-just Green Transitions workshop, co-organized by UN Women, UNDP and GIZ on 15 November 2022. Prof. Ge Chazhong, Chief Scientist of CAEP shared current gender gaps and suggested “incorporating gender perspectives into the ecological, environmental protection and climate change laws and policies”. UN Women leveraged interagency mandate to substantively engage the UN system, specifically UNDP, IFAD, UNFPA and UNEP, for joint advocacy on the importance of gender just climate governance, action, and mitigation. Besides, a UN system wide International Women's Day campaign on the theme of 'With Her A Greener Future' was organized, attracting 24 million views and discussions on social media. UN Women, together with RCO, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, FAO, IFAD, ESCAP, WHO, UNV, UNHCR, UNFPA, UNIDO, ILO, and World Bank made joint video for public advocacy, with concrete recommendations for fully reflection of women’s roles and rights in climate policies, programmes and investments. And three CSOs brought voices from the field through video too, revealing women’s great contribution and pressing needs for supports in biodiversity conservation and climate response.

(Link to SP Output 9) Relative poverty and multi-dimensional poverty are reduced, and more coordinated development leads to reduction in gaps between rural and urban areas and among regions, as more people in China, including left-behind groups, benefit from sustainable, innovation-driven and shared high-quality economic development, with enhanced access to economic opportunities arising through innovation, entrepreneurship and rural revitalization, enjoying decent work, sustainable livelihoods, and the right to develop equally for both women and men.

This outcome has not been achieved. However, good progress has been made towards this outcome. UN Women has supported government agencies in increasing business opportunities and access to finance as well as strengthening the resilience of women-owned small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) and workers to ensure inclusive, gender responsive recovery and sustainable growth. Furthermore, UN Women has also worked with private sector partners to promote gender equality in the workplace and marketplace through the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). UN Women has supported local women’s federations in the hardest-hit regions of Wuhan and Tianjin to deploy model recovery schemes that have benefited over 450 women-owned enterprises and 1,000 workers so far through various measures such as dedicated business support, cash grants, rent reductions, which has resulted in increased income and access to markets. The targeted support provided to women led SMEs includes one-to-one business guidance, strengthened capacity for future business resilience; and enhanced their access to market and investment services etc. Evidently, 29 women-led SMEs have reported increased their average income by around CNY 5,000 as a result of the support. In addition, three SMEs have obtained 100 square meters’ free office venue (estimated at around CNY 486,000 in value) from Tianjin Haitianyuan Productivity Promotion Center. Finally, 270 companies in China have signed the WEPs, surpassing UN Women China’s target of 200. These are nascent results, given that COVID-19 Recovery programme implementation was delayed due to protracted negotiations over a partnership agreement, but UN Women China expects these numbers to rise by the next reporting period. The strategic partnerships developed in pursuit of this outcome with government agencies such as like the All China Women's Federation (ACWF), the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE), and the China Centre for Promotion of SME Development (SME Centre) will prove critical in achieving this outcome going forward. Similarly, it is hoped that the 270 WEPs signatories in China will lead to more inclusive, gender-equal policies and economic opportunities for women in the workplace and marketplace while also opening doors for programmes and partnerships for UN Women China down the line.

Relative poverty and multi-dimensional poverty are reduced, and more coordinated development leads to reduction in gaps between rural and urban areas and among regions, as more people in China, including left-behind groups, benefit from sustainable, innovation-driven and shared high-quality economic development, with enhanced access to economic opportunities arising through innovation, entrepreneurship and rural revitalization, enjoying decent work, sustainable livelihoods, and the right to develop equally for both women and men. (UNSDCF Outcome 1)

In 2022, a joint study by China’s Ministry of Finance, the Development Rese arch Center (DRC) of the State Council, and the World Bank reported that more than 768 million people were lifted out of poverty , with the h eadcount ratio dropping 8.5% to 0.6% in the period between 2013-2019 . 4 China had reached its goal of pulling all 98.99 mill ion rural people out of poverty by 2020. In 2021, the government announced a shift from poverty alleviation to rural revitalization, emphasizing the priorities it places on addressing vulnerabilities faced by the rural population. 5 New data released in 2023 suggests progress to ward addressing ongoing disparities in rural areas: “ the per capita disposable income of rural residents that had been lifted out o f poverty increased by 7.5% year-on-year, and the per capita net income of the population that has escaped poverty grew by 14.3% year-on-year. ” 6 The government further reports that financial accessibility for mic ro and small enterprises has been improved; data released in 2023 indicates that, by the end of 2022, “ the balance of inclusive loans to MSEs nationwide was RMB 23.8 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 23.8%. ” 7 In 2023, UN Women China has made significant progress towards the intended outcome results. UN Women has worked to benefit women owned MSMEs, through capacity development, especially on digital literacy and enhancing their access to financial services and marketsA virtual women MSMEs training hub with eleven online training modules on gender equality and entrepreneurial skills was developed in collaboration with government partners for women MSMEs to learn at their own pace. Over 375,900 people participated in the digital training activities and opportunities for knowledge exchange. In Hunan, through UN Women and IFAD’s joint ‘ Hunan Rural Revitalization Demonstration Project ’, a total of 108,809 rural people, including 49,442 rural women benefited from technical and financial support to their agri-business development, inclusive public services on climate adaption and disaster risk reduction, and climate-smart infrastructure. To date, the project has directly benefited 153,736 rural people, including 44.8% rural women and 43.5% ethnic minorities. The project has granted approximately USD 95,000 to support 43 women-led start-up businesses. In Qinghai, through the new ‘ Women-led Rural Community Renewable Energy Transition and Governance Project ’, members from 7 women-led agricultural cooperations obtained technical training on renewable energy technology, e-commerce and finance, and gender equality. UN Women supported the development of Sanjiangyuan Female Environmentalist Network. One of their pioneers, Bayang, is recognized as one of the 2023 ‘ BBC 100 Women ’, to acknowledge her contribution to tackling climate changes. UN Women China supported a multifaceted approach for promoting transformative interventions around the care economy, including strengthening the evidence base for effective interventions, raising public awareness of key issues and possible solutions, and developing partnerships with diverse stakeholders for sustainable, effective action. UN Women China and the International Labour Organization China and Mongolia jointly finalized and published a study Care Work in China: Who Does Care Work, What is Its Economic Value and How Has it Been Affected by COVID-19? . The study was conducted to better understand care work and the economy of care in China and to present policy recommendations to strengthen the societal reorganization of care to help shape a more equal and inclusive society. This research provides a strong foundation for evidence-based policy advocacy efforts and programming interventions aimed at addressing unpaid care work. Building on the evidence, UN Women signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Women’s General Association of Macau (WGAM) in November of 2023. UN Women, as a technical advisory partner to the WGAM, aims to jointly incentivize care economy actors using the “5R” Framework in Macau, with the potential to expand to the Greater Bay Area. The MOU was launched through WeCare Immersive Exhibition that attracted over 40,000 onsite visitors and 60,000 participations online. Building on previous partnerships and results, UN Women and EU kicked off the project Women in Motion, aiming to enhance women migrant worker’s decent work and career development in Guangdong, one of the provinces with the largest migrant population in China. Working with ILO, and national partners including China Enterprise Confederation, Guangdong Enterprise Association, China Electronics Standardization Association and China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the project is expected to benefit 10,000 women in 100 factories/companies in the textile, automobile and ICT sectors. To enhance understanding and inform advocacy efforts, a total of 6 knowledge products were developed under WEE programmes, including online training course ‘ Promoting Gender Equality in Rural Revitalization’ ; ‘ Providing Innovative and Gender-responsive Digital Support to smallholder farmers In China’ ; ‘ the Gendered Distribution and Perception of Unpaid Care Work in China ’; ‘ Creating a Diverse, Equal and Inclusive Workplace’ training manual ; Care Work in China: Who Does Care Work, What is Its Economic Value and How Has it Been Affected by COVID-19? ; and a Multi-country study on women-led MSMEs, with a focus on microenterprises in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Rwanda and Uganda.

Relative poverty and multi-dimensional poverty are reduced, and more coordinated development leads to reduction in gaps between rural and urban areas and among regions, as more people in China, including left-behind groups, benefit from sustainable, innovation-driven and shared high-quality economic development, with enhanced access to economic opportunities arising through innovation, entrepreneurship and rural revitalization, enjoying decent work, sustainable livelihoods, and the right to develop equally for both women and men. (UNSDCF Outcome 1)

In 2024, with support from UN Women China, more people in China, including left-behind groups, benefit from sustainable, innovation-driven and shared high-quality economic development, with enhanced access to economic opportunities, as well as to decent work, sustainable livelihoods, and the right to develop equally for both women and men. Through UN Women’s EU-funded Women In Motion Project, 106 factories in the textile, ICT and automobile sectors are implementing gender-responsive workplace mechanisms, expected to benefit over 225,000 workers. Moreover, 2096 women workers have enhanced their skills through Train the Trainers and cascade trainings. Among them, 204 participants, including 179 women (47% are migrant workers), have been trained as seed trainers and are now passing on their industrial and soft skills to over 10,000 women workers. Additionally, the establishment of 4 informal networks has supported peer learning for female workers and enabled employers to exchange best practices, demonstrating tangible outcomes of capacity-development efforts. UN Women, in collaboration with national and subnational counterparts, including the China Enterprise Confederation and the China Electronics Standardisation Association, provided technical assistance to the factories and employers to adopt gender responsive policies and practices, including the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), and provides tailored skills training for employers and workers. To support the implementation of CEDAW’s concluding observation on the 9th periodic report of China and VNR Report on Implementation of the 2030 Agenda, UN Women China has catalysed multi-sectoral commitment to advance gender-responsive workplace policies and standards by fostering engagement among over 40 representatives from government, academia, civil society, and private sector. Building on evidence from project baseline research, a series of policy discussions highlighting women workers’ challenges such as gender stereotypes and workplace discrimination has delivered actionable recommendations for shaping gender-responsive workplace policies and standards for women’s career development. As part of our awareness and advocacy efforts leveraging the support of ILO and UNIDO, the project has reached over 560,000 people through online campaigns that provided platforms for women, especially young voices, to advocate for gender equality and inclusive workplace. These campaigns include Her Place Her Home and the Beijing+30 Youth Blog My Dream Inclusive Workplace. Under the IFAD-led joint “ Hunan Rural Revitalization Demonstration Project ”, notable progress has been made toward supporting rural women’s economic empowerment in 10 counties in Hunan. A total of 56,842 rural people in ten pilot counties in Hunan Province, including 29,324 rural women have benefitted from financial and technical support for agri-business development, inclusive public services on climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and climate-smart infrastructure. Among the beneficiaries, ethnic minorities account for 31.2%. Additionally, 26 women-led business start-ups received support to promote their entrepreneurship and develop their businesses. In Qinghai, UN Women’s “ Women-led Rural Community Renewable Energy Transition and Governance Project ” project enhances rural women’s access to energy and income security by providing technical support and renewable energy pilots. 2 women-led agricultural cooperatives and 1 Tibetan community (women accounting for 51%) were equipped with solar energy, generating an estimated 100,000 CNY in economic benefits and decreasing women’s unpaid care work in households by over 3,600 hours annually, together with an estimated 3 tons of CO2 emission reduction annually In 2024, the WEPs signatory network grew by 8%, surpassing 420 members and positioning China as one of the top five WEPs networks globally. Additionally, UN Women China supported 30 Chinese signatories in the 2024 APAC Regional WEPs Awards, celebrating companies that excel in promoting gender-sensitive business cultures and practices. Among them, two signatories received regional recognition for their excellence in transparency and reporting on gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE).