Region:Asia Pacific
Current UN Women Plan Period Afghanisthan:2018-2022
World Bank Income Classification:Low Income
The World Bank classifies economies for analytical purposes into four income groups: low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high income. For this purpose it uses gross national income (GNI) per capita data in U.S. dollars, converted from local currency using the World Bank Atlas method, which is applied to smooth exchange rate fluctuations.
Least Developed Country:Yes
Since 1971, the United Nations has recognized LDCs as a category of States that are deemed highly disadvantaged in their development process, for structural, historical and also geographical reasons. Three criteria are used: per capita income, human assets, and economic vulnerability.
Gender Inequality Index:0.575
GII is a composite metric of gender inequality using three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. A low GII value indicates low inequality between women and men, and vice-versa.
Gender Development Index:0.723
GDI measures gender inequalities in achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources.
Population:209,497,025
Source of population data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision
Male:19,976,265 (9.5%)
Female:189,520,760 (90.5%)
outcome XM-DAC-41146-CHN_D_1.1
People’s lives in China are improved further as headway is made in ensuring access to childcare, education, healthcare services, elderly care, housing, and social assistance, and more people in China, including left-behind groups, benefit from equitable and public services and social protection systems as well as accelerated efforts to reduce gender inequality and other forms of social inequality throughout the life-course.
In 2023, some progress has been made toward the outcome through efforts led by UN Women and its partners, including through joint advocacy, strengthening the evidence base for policy making, provision of technical support for policy making and implementation of laws promoting GEWE, strengthening institutional mechanisms for capacity development, and the promotion of women’s leadership and participation. Through grants to local partners and technical assistance from UN Women under its China Gender Fund for Research and Advocacy (CGF), engaged duty bearers have gained an increased understanding of the significance of gender issues, including in political participation, and environmental protection (contributing to Outputs 1.1.1, 1.1.2). As a result, engaged duty bearers have taken policy decisions and other actions to address these issues and ensure girls’ and women’s equal access to opportunities and services. Results include: With financial and technical support from UN Women, a sustainable Sanjiangyuan Women’s Environmentalist network was formed and grew to include 30 members in 2023. The network will continue to cultivate indigenous women’s leadership in climate action. One of the network pioneers, Bayang, a 22-year old Tibetan woman, was recognized as one of the “2023 BBC 100 Women” for her contributions to tackling climate change. In the area of ending violence against women (EVAW), the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) developed the Ten Guiding Cases on Anti-Domestic Violence in China, which were launched nationally in June 2023. The SPC will continue using these cases to identify gaps in current trial practices, and the cases will serve as a reference document for local courts and judges to strengthen survivor-centred approaches. UN Women provided technical and financial assistance in support of the development of the Guiding Cases, providing direct inputs on the alignment of these cases with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CEDAW, while meeting the needs of the local judicial context. 397 national stakeholders from Gansu, Hunan, Liaoning, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces have strengthened capacities on the UN Essential Services Package (ESP) and multisectoral coordination mechanisms. Partnering with the China Association of Family and Marriage and the China Women’s University, UN Women provided comprehensive training based on the ESP with a special focus on how to work with the police and health sector on domestic violence case referral and survivor-centred response services. Although data is not available yet to assess the impact of the capacity-building initiatives on survivors, increased capabilities for multisector coordination are expected to directly contribute to survivors’ enhanced access to public services and social protection systems. UN Women, through technical and financial support to Beijing Dongcheng Yuanzhong Family and Community Development Center (Yuanzhong), also strengthened the capacity of 20 CSO service providers on case management, referral and effective multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms and supported the official publication of the Domestic Violence Social Service Manual, which will serve as a critical resource for stakeholders moving forward. The above achievements affirm the efficacy of the original strategy and Theory of Change focused on strengthening capacities among the justice sector, government service providers, and non-governmental organizations and service providers to implement effective coordination mechanisms, deliver quality essential services for women and girls, advocate for laws and policies in support of women and girls, and encourage women’s participation in decision making and leadership. UN Women will be leveraging these achievements and expanding these initiatives through new EVAW and CGF programmes in 2024.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-CHN_D_2.3
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.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-CHN_D_5.1
China’s international financing, investments and business engagements, including through connectivity initiatives, programmes and projects, contribute to SDG attainment in partner countries
During 2023, some progress was made toward government bodies, research institutions and private sector entities in China having increased knowledge and capacity in gender-sensitive financing, and the ability to advance gender equality through gender responsive financing tools, guidance and practices. UN Women nurtured important relationships with research institutes, private sector entities, government partners, and sister UN agencies. Together with these partners, we implemented high-level dialogues; conducted foundational research; developed training tools; and launched new joint initiatives aimed at increasing knowledge and understanding of gender-sensitive financing and effective gender responsive financing tools among key stakeholders. UN Women forged strategic partnerships with think tanks and research institutions, including the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), with which we convened high-level multi-stakeholder dialogues on financing for gender equality, creating platforms for exploring issues including gender-smart investment and business practices ) and promoting financing for gender equality in innovation, technology, and digital education (2023 DigitALL - Symposium on Gender-Responsive Technology and Innovation in the 21st Century). UN Women and CCG co-hosted a dialogue “Promoting Gender-Smart Business Practices & Investment” on September 6 th as part of the 2023 Global Talent Sustainable Development Forum at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS). The event encouraged participants, including from the public and private sector, to share best practices, success stories, and strategies for promoting responsible and gender-smart business and investment practices in order to accelerate progress toward SDG 5. UN Women, together with the International Institute for Green Finance (IIGF), developed a landscape analysis, mapping existing sustainable financing initiatives through desk research and stakeholder interviews, analyzing opportunities and challenges for promoting gender financing in China, and identifying key stakeholders for engagement in high-potential areas. The landscape analysis is informing UN Women China office's future programming direction in the sustainable financing and has informed the design of a technical workshop for participants from government, IFIs, MDBs, academic institutions, and CSOs that will delve into different modalities for gender financing and raise awareness of best practices among key actors, as well as a series of learning salons and networking sessions aimed at building a network of diverse stakeholders working on gender financing and facilitating meaningful collaboration among these actors. A policy brief will be developed based on the landscape analysis and subsequent learning events. UN Women, together with UNDP, UNICEF, and ILO have come together to advocate for the UN and international standards and business practices on Responsible Business Conduct to be adopted and implemented by Chinese enterprises operating overseas to contribute towards achievement of the SDGs. Entities jointly developed a “Scoping Report: Collaboration on Promoting Responsible Business Conduct of Chinese Overseas Investment for the Contributions to the SDGs” and an accompanying practical Responsible Business Practices Handbook for Chinese companies, which will be piloted through learning sessions in the coming year. In support of China’s evolving role as an international development cooperation (IDC) actor and to promote demand-driven and gender-responsive IDC projects, a joint programme led by UNDP with UN Women, FAO, and WHO, in partnership with the EU has been developed —“ Effective Multilateralism in China towards advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.” UN Women is the lead partner for delivering on GEWE aspects of the joint programme, which will be formalized into agreement in early 2024 and come into effect the same year. Under the programme, UN Women will deliver tools and training to strengthen Chinese government, private sector, and financial sector capacities for SDG 5-aligned orientation.Showing 1 - 3 of 3
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