Editing One-child policy (section)

=== Quality of life for women ===

The increase in the number of only-child girls resulted in gradual changes in social norms regarding gender, including a decrease in the inequalities between women and men.<ref name=":92" />{{Rp|page=66}}

The one-child policy's limit on the number of children resulted in new mothers having more resources to start investing money in their own well-being. As a result of being an only child, women had increased opportunities to receive an education and support to get better jobs. One side effect of the one-child policy was the liberation of women from the significant duties of taking care of many children and the family in the past; instead, women have had more time for themselves to pursue their career or hobbies. The other major side effect of the policy was that the traditional concepts of gender roles between men and women have weakened. Being one and the only "chance" the parents have, women have been expected to compete with peer men for better educational resources or career opportunities. Especially in cities where the one-child policy was much more regulated and enforced, expectations for women to succeed in life are no less than for men. Recent{{when|date=December 2023}} data has shown that the proportion of women attending college is higher than that of men. The policy also had a positive effect at 10 to 19 years of age on the likelihood of completing senior high school in women of Han ethnicity. At the same time, the one-child policy reduced the economic burden for each family. The average conditions for each family improved. As a result, women also have had much more freedom within the family. They have been supported by family to pursue life achievements.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ren |first=Yuan |date=23 December 2013 |title=How China's one-child policy overhauled the status and prospects of girls like me |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10531422/How-Chinas-one-child-policy-overhauled-the-status-and-prospects-of-girls-like-me.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324112558/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10531422/How-Chinas-one-child-policy-overhauled-the-status-and-prospects-of-girls-like-me.html |archive-date=24 March 2016}}</ref> Mothers who complied with the policy were able to have longer maternity leave periods as long as they were older than 24.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Green |first=Lawrence W. |date=1988 |title=Promoting the One-Child Policy in China |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3343010 |journal=[[Journal of Public Health Policy]] |volume=9 |issue=2 |page=277 |doi=10.2307/3343010 |issn=0197-5897 |jstor=3343010 |pmid=3417864 |s2cid=19303045}}</ref> The government encouraged couples to start family planning at an older age. Since many of these women were employed, the incentive to have later births was to provide paid leave as long as they followed the expectation of having one child. However, if they happened to have a second pregnancy they were stripped of their privileges and were not given the same resources compared to their first birth. During this time period{{when|date=December 2023}}, another shift in attitude towards women was the harsh punishment they would receive if they acted against the newly established policy. In areas such as Shanghai, women faced similar punishments as men, while before the [[Cultural Revolution|Revolution]] they tended to have more lenient penalties.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nie |first1=Yilin |last2=Wyman |first2=Robert J. |date=2005 |title=The One-Child Policy in Shanghai: Acceptance and Internalization |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3401363 |journal=Population and Development Review |volume=31 |issue=2 |page=320 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2005.00067.x |issn=0098-7921 |jstor=3401363}}</ref>

Women's experiences of the one-child policy shaped their perceptions of it, both of which have been studied extensively by researchers. These studies have revealed a variety of perspectives. While some women viewed the policy as beneficial, particularly in terms of providing better educational and employment opportunities for their children, others experienced significant negative effects, including gender-based discrimination, psychological distress, and [[social stigma]] as a byproduct of the policy. One study by Greenhalgh et al. (2005) found that many urban women in China perceived the one-child policy as positive, as it allowed them to have greater control over their reproductive health and career trajectories. These women also valued the educational and economic opportunities afforded to their single child, which were seen as providing a pathway out of poverty and towards upward mobility.<ref name=":18">{{Cite journal |last=Greenhalgh |first=Susan |date=2003 |title=Science, Modernity, and the Making of China's One-Child Policy |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2003.00163.x |journal=Population and Development Review |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=163–196 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2003.00163.x |issn=0098-7921}}</ref> However, the same study also found that women's perceptions of the one-child policy were heavily influenced by their social and economic circumstances. For example, women who were unable to afford the fines associated with violating the policy were more likely to form negative perceptions, as were women who faced pressure from their families to have a male child.<ref name="auto3" /> Another study by Poston and Glover (2005) found that women in rural China were more likely to view the policy as negative. These women reported experiencing significant pressure to have a male child, and those who were unable to do so faced social stigma and discrimination.<ref name="auto">{{Citation |last1=Poston |first1=Dudley L |title=China's demographic destiny |date=2006 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203356449_chapter_12 |work=Fertility, Family Planning, and Population Policy in China |pages=172–186 |access-date=2023-05-07 |place=Abingdon, UK |publisher=Taylor & Francis |doi=10.4324/9780203356449_chapter_12 |isbn=978-0-203-38955-3 |last2=Jr |last3=Glover |first3=Karen S}}</ref> The distress and pressure to bear a son inflicted on women through marriage, family, and career expectations made Chinese women more likely than men to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and to commit suicide, contrary to the rates observed in Western countries <ref>Zhang J, Sun L, Liu Y, Zhang J. 2014. The change in suicide rates between 2002 and 2011 in China. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 44:5560–68 [Google Scholar]. In</ref> addition, women who violated the policy by having a second child were subject to fines, job loss, and other penalties, which could have significant economic and social consequences.<ref name="auto" /> A study by Mosher (2012) found that women who underwent forced abortions or sterilizations as a result of the one-child policy experienced significant psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and trauma.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite journal |last=Mosher |first=Steven W. |date=2006 |title=China's one-child policy: twenty-five years later |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17111544/ |journal=The Human Life Review |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=76–101 |issn=0097-9783 |pmid=17111544}}</ref> These women reported feeling violated and traumatized by the forced abortions and sterilizations that occurred as a byproduct of the one-child policy. Such experiences could have long-lasting effects on their mental health and wellbeing.<ref name="auto1" /> Taken together, these studies suggest that women's diverse perceptions of the one-child policy were based on their individual experiences with it. These experiences were heavily dependent on women's social and economic circumstances, which led to varied perceptions and attitudes on the policy. While some women perceived it as positive, particularly in urban areas, others experienced significant negative effects, including psychological distress and social stigma.  The divorce risk was 43% higher for one-girl couples than one-boy couples in rural China during the 2000s, a disparity not found among urban couples who were under less extreme pressure to bear a son.<ref>Ma L, Rizzi E, Turunen J. 2019. Childlessness, sex composition of children, and divorce risks in China. Demogr. Res. 41:753–79</ref> Parents, especially mothers, had to hide pregnancy and birth under great duress, often fleeing from one village to another or from the country to towns. Mothers during both pregnancy and delivery had to stay away from public facilities of maternal and infant health care.<ref>Hvistendahl M. 2011. Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men New York: Public Aff. </ref>