MANY independent Chinese women like to earn their own bread, even if their husbands are already bringing home the bacon. But a recent survey suggests that such women find more joy from relationships, rather than successful careers.
The 2007 Career Women’s Survival Report was conducted by the consulting agency Universum and released by Sun Culture Multimedia last month.
About 73 percent of the 7,000 women surveyed in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou said they would choose to work even if their husbands earned enough for the family. The survey also found that 77 percent define happiness as “enjoying a relationship”.
But striking a balance between career and family can bring challenges to the woman’s career advancement.
Bottlenecks
“In my company, women usually have an equal or even a higher starting salary than men,” said Gu Hua, general manager of Beijing Chuangjiashe Book Circulation Company. “However, as they begin to climb up the career ladder, women often meet problems along the way, while men can climb the ladder more easily.”
Both physical and emotional differences can prevent some women from taking tough positions, Gu said. But family life is often the main hurdle for Chinese career women.
Despite these challenges, however, some experts believe it’s reasonable for some women to want to be breadwinners.
“In this way, the roles of a family are decided by the parents’ abilities rather than their gender,” said Gu Donghui, a sociology professor at Fudan University.
Gu says women should have the freedom to decide if they want to stay at home or work to support the family. “Everyone has a different interpretation of what it means to find self-worth”
Gu Haibin, an economic expert from Renmin University shares that view: “Traditionally, we tend to regard the family as the cell unit of society. Some members have always been expected to make sacrifices for it. But, it really doesn’t matter who earns more. Economic independence and personal choice is essential for both sexes in the family.” (By XU WEIWEI)
