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.
UN Women China continues to contribute to gender equality in education and philanthropy through gender-responsive governance. Under the UN Women China Gender Fund (CGF) funded project of “Education equality promotion project for Dongxiang girls in Dongxiang County, Gansu Province” implemented by Gansu Xing Bang Social Work Serving Center, a “red title order”, typical of a local regulation was issued and sent on 19th November 2021 by Education Bureau to all schools in Dongxiang County to ensure ethnic minority girls’ have equal rights in education and promote gender equality in the education system. The Order will impact 37,300 girls of the Dongxiang ethnic minority, responding to the fact that such girls tend to face more barriers to education at both the family and school levels. The red title order contains provisions for girls' equal access to primary and high school education, and those facing family financial difficulties, among others. In addition, the red title order has also required all schools in Dongxian to incorporate gender equality into their curriculum, which allows 76,200 Dongxiang boys and girls in the country to receive gender equality education, because the order has also g UN Women provided technical and grant support, including organizing consultations and dialogues, for CEDAW capacity development and drafting of the local regulation. The Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines in Philanthropy were developed under the “Mainstream Gender Equality Perspective into China’s Philanthropy” project implemented by China Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO) and issued by CANGO on 23rd November 2021. It was the first-ever gender equality guidelines developed in the philanthropy sector, which is expected to be referenced by all foundations and CSOs to guide their programming and internal governance. The guidelines were welcomed by CSOs. As a result, 43 CSOs in China made a joint commitment to follow these guidelines in their work and integrate a gender perspective in philanthropy and charitable assistance in China, increasing efforts towards gender equality and empowerment of women in country programming. 118 CSO partners were mobilized to address gender equality in their programming with the joint effort of UN Women and its CGF partners Gansu XingBang Social Work Serving Center, CANGO, Shaanxi Research Association for Women and Family, and Sanjiangyuan Environmental Protection Center. The CSOs were mobilized and equipped with the capacity and tools to advocate for women’s rights and gender equality in their programming and internal governance.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-CHN_D_2.1
(Link to SP Output 10) 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.
The “Strengthening Qinghai Women Farmers’ Income Security and Resilience in a Changing Climate” project contributes to the shared outcome of the Women’s Economic Empowerment portfolio. The project made tremendous progress towards improving rural women’s climate resilient livelihood opportunities and entrepreneurship in seven pilot counties in Qinghai Province. 69,444 women benefited from training in several areas, including leadership, agricultural practices, e-commerce, and how to access finance – and received production inputs or technological packages. Among those who benefited from the entrepreneurship start-up training, 75 percent succeeded in creating their own businesses. Among the six pilot villages supported by the project, Bahan village and Qiaotou village were selected as provincial models for rural revitalization, and the two First Secretaries of the two villages (one of which is a woman) won the National Advanced Individual in Poverty Alleviation Award. Meanwhile, the gender awareness of local service providers was increased with UN Women’s training and technical support. Among the 458 service providers trained within this project, 85 per cent reported they could apply the knowledge from gender training and support women farmers in their daily work. Through partnership and collaboration with the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Qinghai Rural Revitalization Bureau, and Qinghai Women’s Federation, synergies were built, project effectiveness and cost efficiency were increased. Based on results and experience generated from the Qinghai project, a new partnership with IFAD and the Hunan provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was forged, through a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding for a large-scale programme the “Hunan Rural Revitalization Demonstration” programme that aims to support rural women and men in 10 pilot counties in Hunan Province to build up their climate resilience through climate-proofed infrastructure construction, climate-smart agriculture skills development, and extended livelihood opportunities. The programme will directly reach 320,000 persons, over 30 per cent of whom are minority populations and 50 per cent are diverse women. UN Women is the lead technical partner for supporting gender mainstreaming in the programme. In 2021, in addition to the establishment of partnership, as a result of UN Women’s advocacy and technical support, a Gender Action Plan has been developed, to enhance the gender responsiveness of the programme. The Gender Action Plan has been integrated into the Project Management Manual for local government partners for guiding implementation at 10 pilot counties in Hunan from 2022 to 2026.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-CHN_D_2.2
(Link to SP Output 8) 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.
With UN Women’s convening power and social influence, progress has been made towards promoting policies on decent work and social protection for women in companies, as well as in public awareness raising. Results achieved under two projects (WeEmpowerAsia and A Place Called Home-WeCare) include: 270 companies from the Chinese mainland have committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment by signing Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) as of the end of 2021; an increase of 167 from 2020. Seven companies have been selected as pilot companies by China Enterprise Confederation (CEC) to implement WEPs 2 and 3. UN Women launched a campaign on unpaid care work “Do more, for her and for the family” in partnership with IKEA generating over 15 million social media views through online campaigns and another 6,000 visitors participated in the offline exhibition at the IKEA premise in Beijing. Two studies on 1) gender equality and the new economy in China; and 2) value of care work in China are underway, in partnership with the National School of Development, Peking University and Institution of New Economic Development (iNED), and the ILO. The reports will provide a strong evidence base for policy recommendations in these areas in 2022 and beyond. UN Women has contributed significantly to integrating gender equality into policies and regulations for companies and industries. With UN Women’s technical support, two sectors (ICT and textile) have integrated gender equality and women’s empowerment into their industrial-level guidance. In addition to this, 14 companies are developing gender action plans to integrate WEPs into company policies or practices. In 2021, three partnerships for women’s economic empowerment were forged by the office. This included: 1) MoU with Hunan Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (DARA) to implement a tripartite programme involving UN Women, IFAD, and DARA for rural economic empowerment; 2) Partnership Agreement with CEC for implementing WEPs principles 2 and 3 in selected companies; 3) Partnership Agreement with China International Cooperation Association of SMEs for enhancing women entrepreneurs’ market access.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-CHN_D_2.3
(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.
Good progress has been made towards this outcome. UN Women China office 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 their employees to ensure inclusive, gender-responsive recovery and sustainable growth. Furthermore, UN Women has also worked with women entrepreneurs to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment 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 employees 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 access to market and investment services. 29 women-led SMEs have reported increased average income by approximately CNY 5,000 as a result of the support. In addition, three SMEs have obtained a 100 square meters free office venue (estimated at around CNY 486,000 in value) from Tianjin Haitianyuan Productivity Promotion Center. Around International Women’s Day, 49 women entrepreneurs actively advocated for gender equality and WEPs on social media. The strategic partnerships developed in pursuit of this outcome with government agencies such as 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.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-CHN_D_3.1
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.
Progress was made in the prevention and response of gender-based violence (GBV) for the implementation of the Anti-Domestic Law in China. Progress includes the capacity development of service providers and building public awareness of zero-tolerance of GBV. There were some delays in the development of Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) on GBV essential services due to partnership building and COVID-19 restrictions. In 2021, a variety of service providers were brought together to discuss how to set up guidelines and strengthen the essential services for women and girls experiencing GBV. On the prevention side, the general public was mobilized to discuss how to support women and girls experiencing violence and how to prevent violence. UN Women contributed to these achievements through partnership building with the Supreme People's Court, launching the Chinese version of the Essential Service Package to Women and Girls subject to violence (ESP) with key national and local duty bearers, and facilitating the civil society organizations (CSO) consultation workshop on localization and adaptation of ESP social service. The CSOs who joined the consultation are the key leading CSOs serving rural women, women living with HIV/AIDS, LGBTI groups, and women with disabilities experiencing gender-based violence. All of these built a solid foundation for the development of the SOPs and training manual in 2022. ESP, which is jointly developed by UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, and UNODC, is listed as a key technical reference for the cooperation with the Supreme People’s Court in China and received great interest from National Working Committee on Children and Women (NWCCW), the key coordination agency for anti-domestic violence in China. In the mobilization of public discussion and public awareness raising, UN Women contributed through male engagement in ending violence against women for the 16 Days Campaign. In the 16 Days Campaign, UN Women played a lead role and adopted a creative strategy to engage different partners, including UN agencies, embassies in China, media and platforms, private sectors, CSOs, key opinion leaders, and young people to advocate for male engagement and not being a bystander. UN Women launched two theme videos on main media platforms Weibo, Kuaishou, and WeChat with key messages. In total, the two theme videos have 6 million views. The hashtag “Don’t be a bystander” has 65 million views and ranked among the top 15 hashtags on Weibo. The same topic campaign reached 34.6 million views on Kuaishou. The campaign largely contributed to the public discussion on ending violence against women in China.Showing 1 - 5 of 6
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References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).