Equality, Development and Sharing: Progress of Women's Cause in 70 Years Since New China's Founding
Establishing a policy system to support family and women's development. After New China was founded, policies closely associated with family were issued, including those related to marriage, maternity, child care, and elderly care. Government entities, industrial and mining enterprises, residential districts, and communes established nursing rooms, nurseries, kindergartens, which liberated women's labor and supported women's broad participation in social labor. For more than 40 years since the reform and opening up policy was adopted, China has incorporated family building into the overall plan for national economic and social development. The 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) and the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) outlined clear requirements for family building, emphasized the improvement of family development ability, and attached importance to the role of family in supporting social development and sharing social responsibility. The Program for the Development of Chinese Women (2011-20) emphasized shared family responsibilities of men and women, development of family-oriented public services, and creation of conditions for both husband and wife to strike a balance between work and family. In 2010, the "Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on the Development of Family Service Industry" was issued. The All-China Women's Federation and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security jointly implemented a special project for training women on family services to help more couples better balance work and family. Further efforts were made to continue carrying out the campaign of caring girls and deeply promoting the activities of "Bringing a New Marital Style into Thousands of Families". In 2015, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the "Decision on Implementing a Comprehensive Two-Child Policy Reform and Perfecting Family Planning Service Management" which proposed establishing a family development support system, establishing complete family development policies, including birth support, child rearing, and elderly support. Measures were taken to extensively develop happy family activities and new family plans, strengthen the role of family in child care and elderly care, support women in returning to work after delivery, encourage employers to devise measures that help employees balance work and family, and promote gender equality in society. In 2019, General Office of the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Improving Care Services for Infants Under 3 Years," proposing the establishment of a sound policy and regulation system and a standardized system for infant and child care services, and providing policy support for family parenting.
