China has founded 21 women/gender research and training centers to accelerate the establishment of a network of such facilities nationwide, according to sources from the All-China Women's Federation at a conference held in Beijing yesterday.

The progress for Chinese women is still in its infancy, said sociology professor Luo Ping, academic committee director of the Women and Gender Research Center at Wuhan University.

Although it's recognized that the status of women in Chinese society has improved greatly in recent times, a lot of work remain to be done before they could attain the same level as men -- especially in employment and decision-making.

An obvious example is the fact that males have continued to dominate decision-making with very few women actively participating in the work of mainstream bodies responsible for making important decisions. And businesses prefer to hire males rather than females, although they claim that they provide equal opportunities for all job candidates.

Gu Xiulian, vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), chairperson of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and also president of Chinese Women's Research Society, pointed out at the conference that the establishment of women/gender research and training centers is extremely important to development in social sciences as well as to the progress of Chinese women and the construction of a harmonious society.

Gu said women/gender research and training are strongly related to each other in the way that theory is closely related to practice. It's expected that society in general will have the thoughtfulness to pay more attention to women/gender research and training and assist in improving the status of women.

She said the life of elderly women is an important issue. They live longer than males and in fact 60 percent of the aged are female. To help old people enjoy their later years, in an action called the "Love and Care Project" ACWF and the Senior Peoples' Committee have jointly put together a fund of 20 million yuan (US$2.5 million) to provide services for them. Research has been undertaken at 95 locations throughout the country to ensure older people who are unwell are properly taken care of by trained medical staff. 

During the conference plaques for the first 21 centers were issued by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Ministry of Education, the Party School of the CPC Central Committee and ACWF. 

The centers will integrate all the existing resources from different sectors of society and provide a platform for the exchange of information on women/gender research and training, according to Professor Tan Lin, president of Women's Studies Institute of China.

Many universities in China have set up graduate and postgraduate courses on female studies and lectures are given on gender equality and female training. Some institutions have established contacts or cooperative projects with foreign universities and organizations. A number of books on female studies have also been published.

Attendees of the conference also shared their experiences of women/gender research and training and exchanged ideas for future development. Aimed to operate as an integrated network throughout the country, the centers will play their own roles but cooperate with each other, launching various research projects, undertaking training programs and holding seminars.

(China Development Gateway by Staff Reporter Xu Lin, June 10, 2006)