Leftover Women: The Resurgence Of Gender Inequality In China By Leta Hong Fincher

Today, modern day China is plagued with gender imbalance that threatens societal stability in the Chinese government’s eyes. Currently there is about 20 million more men than women of marrying age throughout China. In looking at the issues that surround women in China, it is clear to see that the problems prevail on social, political, and economic fronts. Women face pressure from their peers, family, and the government to mold to the standards of society no matter what it costs them. In the book Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China by Leta Hong Fincher, an argument is made that educated women over the age of 27 are pressured by the government to resist becoming a “leftover” woman and marry early to promote a harmonious

2). Fincher goes on to argue throughout the book that this pressure causes women to lose out on future employment by rushing into marriages. Additionally, Chinese values on male homeownership cause women to fold under the pressure of family and friends to leave their names off the deeds to family homes. However, by doing so they “have been shut out of arguably the biggest accumulation of residential real-estate wealth in history” (Fincher p. 12). Not only have they given up financial gains after the purchase but often women pour their life savings into the down payment, mortgage, and outfitting’s for the home. While men receive help from family and friends to purchase the home, a woman’s contribution is argued to be almost always her own savings. Without their name on the deed, women often forfeit any rights to the home in the event of divorce, leaving them without resources to buy there own. Even if the couple stays together, the woman often loses bargaining power in the relationship and often is subjected to domestic violence from their husbands. Unable to get help from family, friends, or the government and law enforcement, she is left with very little options. Leta Fincher argues that all of these elements show the growing gender inequality in China today. While the author should be applauded for the exploration of all the elements that lead to the gender inequality in China, there are some issues with the research methods and Fincher’s method of presentation in her