Appraising women empowerment in China: comparing the role of working women in multinational and local companies

The main aim of this thesis is to address the research question “How is women empowerment evolving in China”. This topic is particularly significant since the topic of women empowerment does not receive the right attention. Therefore, the focus of this thesis is to understand how starting from the last century historical, social, and political events have influenced this field. After a literature review that helps the reader to understand the development through a timeline, a second chapter with details about the current framework will be illustrated. The focus of this thesis is particularly on Chapter Three, which aims to address the research question empirically. This chapter presents the methodology employed, including qualitative research conducted through semi-structured interviews with 11 working women. The objective was to gather data on their feelings and experiences, specifically targeting two distinct groups: 5 women who are owners/managers of local companies and 5 employed in international companies. The central point is trying to realize whether these categories have similarities or differences. The research question has been chosen since according to theoretical studies, in the last few years, especially after Xi Jinping took the leadership, the situation has decreased. In fact, if the previous years’ data seems to confirm improvements, the last Gender Gap Report statistics indicate the Country is incurring a ranking drop. Reasons are tied to problems that include a sharp decline in the childbirth rate; this issue tends to lead towards a campaign in favor of the Confucian idea of women, which represents a regression in terms of women empowerment. During the analysis concepts including rooted patriarchy are emphasized and analyzed. The final results indicated that even though the qualitative research suggests that positive trends are emerging and that women are struggling to show they are equal to men, women empowerment is not a priority for the Country. Thus, the result can be illustrated with the term “Disguised empowerment”.