Chinese Women in Leadership

This edited collection highlights the unique cultural and socioeconomic elements of China and the strong influence of those elements on women leaders in the nation. The authors present perspectives on women leaders’ current state of working conditions and balancing of personal and professional lives in diverse contexts while discussing commonalities and differences across sectors in China and drawing comparisons with Asian and non-Asian contexts. Chapters will explore cultural contexts that hinder career advancement, family roles for women, government policies and educational opportunities that support women's development, and finally the future for women in China. The book provides a thorough assessment of the situation of women in China for scholars in leadership, management, international relations, and human resource development.

“In Chinese culture, women are often compared to flowers and water. Flowers are beautiful, but fragile. Water nourishes all lives but is considered weak and soft. These metaphors, while expressing appreciation for women, also indicate that Chinese traditional social structure and culture do not give women an equal and prominent position, and women's leadership often needs to be achieved in a subtle and feminine way. Modernization and globalization have brought a great impact to Chinese culture and society. Women's roles in the family, organization, and society have also undergone tremendous changes. Chinese women's leadership is rising. However, the influence of traditional culture is still strong. To understand women's leadership in today's China, we still need to pay attention to the impact of its dependency context. Just as we want to understand flowers, we need to investigate the garden first; to see the water clearly, we need to study the river. To get a deep understanding of Chinese Women in leadership, we need to understand Chinese women in their unique environment. The book, Chinese Women in Leadership, is like an elaborate museum showing the development of Chinese women's leadership in various contexts and sectors. Through diverse perspectives and international comparisons, the authors reveal rich contents and the current dynamics of Chinese women's leadership. We can see not only flowers and water, but also gardens and rivers. Even better, this book lets us see the graceful butterflies emerging: Based on a profound humanistic spirit, the authors provide a beautiful outlook and valuable suggestions for the future development of Chinese women's leadership with compassionate understanding and kind wishes.” (Siqing Peng, Professor, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University; Vice president of Chinese Society of Social Psychology)

“This is a delightful scholarly book that informs and inspires. The book debunksthe general impression that China has achieved gender equality since Mao Zedong pridefully declared that “women hold up half the sky.” The 12 chapters in this easy-to-read book show that women leaders in China do not yet have the same opportunities to be recognized and respected in the same degree as men. Their leadership has been hampered on many levels. The book provides both historic and contemporary data along with qualitative evidence on the experiences of woman leaders in different sectors. It is a must-read for both scholars and practitioners interested in gender equality in leadership opportunities and development in China. This book offers ideas for scholars to study further the challenges of woman’s leadership in China and to identify systems that will unlock Chinese women’s potential to become powerful decision-makers and influencers. This book inspires both men and women to embrace the opportunities to lead together in creating a world when gender inequality is a thing ofthe past.” (Anne S. Tsui, Motorola Professor of International Management Emerita at the Arizona State University, United States)

“Chinese Women in Leadership is a must-read for anyone curious about women’s leadership and the social, cultural, and political forces challenging and shaping the journeys of Chinese women leaders. Professors Jie Ke and Gary McLean have assembled a stellar collection of human resource development scholarship and practical strategies to help us understand the intersectional forces faced by Chinese women as they bump up against family structures, educational pressures, politics, and more in their quest to lead and change Chinese and global society.” (Laura L. Bierema, Professor, University of Georgia and Immediate Past President, Academy of Human Resource Development, United States)

Jie Ke is Associate Professor of Human Resource Development in the College of Education and Human Development at Jackson State University, USA. Her research interests include Chinese HRD/management, evaluation and assessment, women’s leadership development, Chinese family entrepreneurship, motivations and needs of adult undergraduates, and effectiveness of eLearning. She serves on the Board of Directors and as Co-chair of China SIG for Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD).

Gary N. McLean (EdD, PhD hon) is professor in the PhD program in organization development (OD) at Assumption University, Bangkok, and adjunct professor in the PhD program in HROD at the National Institute for Development Administration (NIDA) in Bangkok. He is professor emeritus, human resource development, University of Minnesota, and former professor at Texas A&M University and International Islamic University, Malaysia. He is past editor of several refereed journals and served as President of AHRD and IMDA. He was President of McLean Global Consulting, a family business and has been active in OD for almost 50 years with an international focus and authored an award-winning OD book. He has a lifelong interest in gender research.