China CCCP: Eleven women enter newly formed central committee

Beijing: Only 11 women have managed to secure seats in the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), according to the official list of newly-appointed members.
The party’s new committee includes 205 members, with women making up only 5.36% of the total. This is still more than the previous 204-member committee, which had only 10 women, or 4.9%.

Women have been gaining a much more prominent place in China’s cultural, economic and social spheres in recent years, but the political scene remains largely male-dominated.
While some women have made it to the CPC Politburo, its Standing Committee has remained a male-only club since its establishment. Most recently, the only female member of the Politburo was Vice Premier of China’s State Council, Sun Chunlan, who left her post on Saturday. The 72-year-old official will fully retire from civil service in March.
Men traditionally hold all ministerial positions in China, while only one woman, the Communist Party Secretary of China’s southwestern Guizhou province Shen Yiqin, is currently holding a senior regional post.
Meanwhile, women have managed to clinch senior positions in Taiwan and Hong Kong. (UNI/SPUTNIK)