Instructions for the Instructor
Have the students read the following articles and answer questions provided. Assignments can be given from the list below to help students grasp the issues presented in these articles. When having students answer questions, have each of them share their responses and, if their answers are different, have them argue their stance. This will allow the students to develop a position on this issues presented and learn critical thinking skills through the process.
Outside sources and readings Urban Women
BBC News (No Author)
28.8.2005. China Outlaws Sexual Harassment. BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4192672.stm
Do women legally have the right to report abuse and harassment? What is the traditional attitude towards women in the workplace?
Cramblitt, Bob. "An Interview with Ping Fu." Communications of the ACM 52, no. 11 (November 2009): 36-39. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. May 19, 2010.
Is this juggling of work and family what all female businesswomen in China should be aspiring for? Do men feel this same pressure?
The Economist
2006. “Women in the Workforce; The Importance of Sex.” The Economist. http://www.economist.com/opinion/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=6800723
Why has there been a longstanding preference for male children in China?
Jiang, Xinyan. "The Dilemma Faced by Chinese Feminists." Hypatia 15.3 (2000): 140-160. Project MUSE. Web. 2 April 2010.
As a teenager growing up in the West, do these assumptions of female strength make you feel uncomfortable? Why or why not?
Jieyu, Liu. "Gender dynamics and redundancy in urban China." Feminist Economics 13.3/4 (2007): 125-158. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 May 2010.
Why are these labor workers thought of as expendable by these manufacturing companies? What could be improved to change this view upon them in reality?
Wang, Chaogang
2002 East Asia Environment and Social Development Unit
China Country Gender Review. World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org.cn/English/content/gender-en.pdf
Do you think it will be possible to change traditional attitudes towards women in China so that they will one day be completely equal, not only under the law but also as members of society?
Wenlei, Ding
2009 “China Workplace Sex Bias and Maternity Issues.” Women Worldwide Advancing Freedom and Equality. http://www.wafewomen.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=328&Itemid=36
Name some of the reasons why employers participate in biased hiring against women. Do they legally have the right to do so?
Yang, Sadie; Li, Ao. "Legal protection against gender discrimination in the workplace in China" Gender & Development 17.2 (2009). Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 May 2010.
How come women are paid less than males on average for the same workload China? How could the government more seriously implement their laws attempting to bring social equality to women?
Yuping Zhang and Emily Hannum and Meiyan Wang. "Gender-Based Employment and Income Differences in Urban China: Considering the Contributions of Marriage and Parenthood." Social Forces 86.4 (2008): 1529-1560. Project MUSE. Web. 2 April 2010.
What disadvantages do women face in China that makes for them to earn lower income and have less job opportunities? What cultural norms prolong these disadvantages for women in China?
Assignments-Urban Women:
1. Write a 2 page paper on one of the following subjects:
-The disadvantages of women in the workplace in China and how it as got to this point. What factors in China’s society lead to discrimination against women? What could the government be doing to make the issue better? What could the citizens be doing in order to start a social change of equal rights, respect, and opportunity towards women in China?
-Discuss the differences in equality between rural and urban female workers in China. Give examples of gender discrimination for both kinds of workers. Why do these differences exist? Would you say one is more advantaged than the other?
2. Write down 5 laws that you think the Chinese government should actively enforce upon the people of China to better the equality of women. Write a 3-4 sentences for each law describing why it is important and examples of issues it would be fixing.
3. Final Paper – Write a 4 page comparative essay contrasting similarities and differences you can see between the struggles of woman’s rights in the workplace in China in comparison to those in the United States. Find sources about woman’s rights in the workplace in the US and compare them to the sources that we have read thus far in class. Could these two countries learn from one another as far as their faults and successes with women’s rights in the workplace?
Assignments and Outside sources-Rural Women:
1. http://www.clb.org.hk/en/files/File/research_reports/Women_Workers_Report.pdf
This report highlights the difficulties of female factory workers in China. Read this report and write an essay describing how conditions can be improved for these women and what these women can do to help secure humane working conditions. The paper should be 12 point font, double spaced and three pages.
2.
http://asiafoundation.org/pdf/ZhangYe.BSR.pdf
This is a report by an NGO called the Asia Foundation that helps rural migrant women. Read this report and research other NGO's that have also worked with rural migrant women. Have students do a research project and present their findings. Students can do a project where they create an NGO and suggest different ways their NGO can help rural women working in the cities in China. Have them use what other NGO's have done as guidelines. Along with the project, assign students a two page 12 point font paper, double spaced that explains the role NGO's play in helping secure rights for rural migrant women in the workplace.
3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization_and_women_in_China
This is the wikipedia article about women in China. Have students read the article and then do a research project where they find information about rural migrant women that isn't on the site and have them post their findings. Word amount and length can vary depending on the number of students involved in this project.
4.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEaOVFlBxQA
Have students listen to this radio clip and ask them these questions for discussion.
1. How can China better protect its women?
2. What laws should China create to help stop human trafficking?
3. What were your reactions to this clip? Did the statistics shock you?
4. Women who move from rural areas to the cities have no legal rights. This was done to help stop mass migration to the cities and prevent overcrowding. In a country with more than a billion people, most of which live in the countryside, if the people were to all start moving to the cities at a higher rate, what would happen? What would you do to prevent the overcrowding of cities and still give human rights to the workers that are there?
5.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvzNp81lQOs&feature=PlayList&p=D5937E7FBF1A877D&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1
Have students watch this video and start a discussion.
1. Can there be democracy in China?
2. What are some of things this organization is doing to help empower rural women? How does this conflict with traditional views of women that dominate rural areas in China today?
3. What are the goals of this organization and what do suggest they do to help further their goals?
