Women's Endowment Faces Challenges in China's Ageing Society

Challenges Facing China's Endowment of the Elderly

With the development of its economy and society after more than 30 years' reform and opening-up, China has changed greatly in many areas related to endowment.

The number of traditional extended families where there are three or four generations living together in both rural and urban areas in China has decreased and, at the same time, the number of core families has increased. With the smaller average size of families, traditional functions of the family related to child-bearing and also the endowment of the elderly have weakened, which poses a big challenge to China's traditional methods of endowment.

In addition, with the increasing number of core families and single-parent families, changed ideas of women about giving birth and greater numbers of women migrating to work in areas away from their homes, the number of people who can take care of the elderly at home is decreasing, especially when women are the main carers for the elderly in a family. A social elderly care services network to supplement family endowment is demanded. 

[fjjsw.gov.cn]

Challenges Facing Chinese Elderly Women

The living expenses of elderly people in China now come from three resources: endowment of their children or relatives, their own income and their retirement pensions. The 2000 population census indicated that the main resource of the consumption required for China's elderly population's living still comes from the endowment of family members, with 43.83 percent mainly dependent on family members' endowment. 32.99 percent mainly dependent on their own income, and only 19.61 percent mainly dependent on retirement pensions.　

Elderly women mainly depending on family members' endowment account for 60 percent of total elderly women, whose percentage is twice as high as that of elderly men, while 23.72 percent of elderly women mainly depend on their own income and 12.92 percent mainly depend on retirement pension. Both of the percentages are only half of men's, which indicates that elderly men and elderly women are very different in the main ways in which they are endowed.

Of the elderly population in China, elderly women account for a higher percentage than elderly men. These elderly women were mainly born before the 1940s, and generally have a poor level of education. Only a small group has ever worked and can enjoy a retirement pension. Most of them lack economic resources and have to depend on their husbands or adult children.

In addition, since their husbands are mostly older than they are, and women's average life expectancy is longer than men's, it is estimated many of them will live alone for years after their husbands pass away. In fact, a considerable amount of elderly women in China now live alone and lack companionship. Their material and spiritual lives usually become worse when they live alone. China's underdeveloped social security system deepens their plight.

Many reasons contribute to these women's disadvantages. In addition to impairment of the national endowment security and medical security systems, problems in employment and retirement policies and China's traditional culture also count for a lot.

Because of China's traditional culture that sons are more important than daughters, elderly women received less education than elderly men on average, which has resulted in elderly women having limited social participation opportunities, lower incomes, poorer social security and also lower social status.

Besides, although elderly women's life expectancy is longer than men's, their health situations are usually worse than their counterparts. With a smaller percentage enjoying medical security, elderly women are mainly dependent on the support of their families or relatives, which places them in vulnerable situations, especially the large numbers of rural elderly women.