Kwong, Julia (University of Manitoba); Wanhua, Ma (Bejing University)

Chinese Women and the Teaching Profession is written by Chinese academics on Chinese women in education. From their vantaged locations not available to academics outside the country, these authors examined the experience of women teachers and students in China’s educational institutions. The articles are not written for an outside audience, they are articles published in Chinese journals and magazines between 1993 and 2002, their analyses and suggestions give a rare and authentic glimpse of women in education and the positions taken by Chinese academics on gender issues.

Since the educational system is an integral part of society, the experience of these women in education is reflective of the experience of Chinese women in other social sectors. These authors found that while women have made headway into China’s institutes of higher learning, they are generally under-represented among the teaching faculty and in administration. Moreover, alarms have been raised whenever women have attained a majority in a certain discipline or a level of education. In general, women’s professional accomplishments are not comparable to men’s, and the authors offered macro and micro level explanations ranging from individual to societal factors, from structural to psychological variables, and from blaming the victim to blaming the system. Stemming from their different perspectives, these authors have offered equally varied suggestions on the issue of gender equity or inequity in China.