4. Women's Undertakings in Grassroots Social Governance
In building a grassroots social governance model based on collaboration, participation, and common interests, China has attached great importance to the role of women and women's organizations, expanded the channels for their orderly participation in grassroots governance, and ensured their involvement in managing grassroots-level public affairs and public-interest undertakings in accordance with the law. Chinese women have excelled in these roles, becoming a major force in grassroots governance.
The positive role of family ties, values, and traditions in grassroots governance. China has improved mechanisms that help to foster family virtues, facilitate education cooperation between families, schools and society, deliver more accessible family services, and resolve marital and family disputes, supporting women in nurturing harmony within households, and thus contributing to a more peaceful and harmonious society for all.
Family virtue cultivation activities such as the selection of the "Most Beautiful Families", "Model Families", and "Five-Virtue Families", and initiatives like "Share Your Family Rules, Mottoes, and Values", "Family Virtues in Letters", and "Family Education Cultivates Values and Virtues" have been organized. These activities champion the new socialist family morality and values, emphasizing love for the country and family, mutual care, devotion to progress and kindness, and joint efforts with shared benefits. A total of 1,597 households have been honored as "National Model Families", 6,258 as "National Five-Virtue Families", and 16.48 million as the "Most Beautiful Families". Additionally, more than 500,000 lectures, exhibitions and performances on family values and traditions have been hosted around the country, attracting a combined attendance of 250 million people.
Women's extensive participation in building a peaceful and harmonious community. Women actively participate in the comprehensive maintenance of public order and contribute to resolving problems and disputes at the grassroots level. Local governments have been exploring a "Women's Federations Plus" mediation model. By the end of 2024, 3,690 mediation commissions above the county level for resolving marriage and family disputes had been established under the leadership of women's federations. Marriage mediation organizations now provide service at comprehensive governance centers, litigation service centers, and community police offices, and marriage mediation offices have been established at the village and community level. Since 2016, nearly 1.36 million cases have been resolved through mediation. In 2023, 295 women mediators were commended by the Ministry of Justice as National Model Mediators, accounting for 29.5 percent of those recognized.
Women also play an active part in patrols for maintaining order and in supervision. The "Jiangdong Aunties" team in Jingkou District, Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province has completed 5,000 hours of voluntary patrols and participated in over 1,000 public service activities since its establishment in 2017. The "Xicheng Aunties" in Beijing and women community liaisons in Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, have promptly identified and reported potential risks for social governance, working at the forefront of conflict resolution at the grassroots level. Women acting as community workers, grid managers, and residential building chiefs have made significant contributions to building a peaceful and harmonious community.
Active engagement in voluntary service and other public-interest programs. China emphasizes the healthy development of voluntary services and social organizations, among which women play an active role. In 2024, there were 24 million women registered as volunteers and 350,000 women volunteer teams. These volunteers play an important role in promoting national strategies, improving the people's wellbeing, and strengthening social governance. They have provided nearly one million voluntary services, covering all 17 goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The number of women in social organizations is on the rise. In 2023, women comprised 42.3 percent of the staff and 26.3 percent of the heads of social organizations respectively, up by 13.3 and 4.9 percentage points from 2012.
(Source: SCIO White Paper China's Achievements in Women's Well-Rounded Development in the New Era)
Editor: Cui Rui
