Strengthening the role of ethnic minority women in science and medicine in China

In the past 60 years, the quality of education for the female population has substantially improved, and there has been a robust increase of women involved in science and medicine in China. The number of female professional researchers has reached 31·46 million, accounting for 40·5% of the total number of scientific researchers in China.1Lin J Li Z Analysis of the development of female scientific and technological talents in China.China High-Tech Enterprises. 2017; 9: 295-296Google Scholar However, women in science and medicine are largely under-represented at senior levels. For example, women comprise approximately 38% of assistant or associate professors and approximately 8% of full professors in universities and scientific institutes. Remarkably, women account for approximately 6% of the 798 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and only 5·1% of the 875 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.2Li JWL Why are a few women in scientific and technological workers? Is it related to womanliness?.Science and Technology Daily (Beijing). March 22, 2010; http://scitech.people.com.cn/GB/11191176.htmlDate accessed: February 14, 2018Google Scholar Unfortunately, this absence of female professionals in senior positions is more prominent in the remote and underdeveloped areas of China. Although rapid progress and considerable achievements have been made in the education of ethnic minority women in China since the 1980s, the participation of women in areas of science and medicine is lacking. In particular, there are few minority women who achieve the rank of full professor, senior investigator, clinical professor, senior physician, or full research professor in top universities, scientific institutes, and clinics in China. The reasons behind this situation are manifold, but primarily include low overall input level of education and medical services (figure), poor educational facilities, absence of high quality teaching, and traditional dual roles (responsibilities of family in addition to work) of ethnic minority women. Importantly, the rural education and medicine shortage is even more prominent in some rural areas than others because of a relatively underdeveloped economy. Moreover, attitudes that have persisted since feudal times are used to justify discrimination against women in some ethnic minority areas, resulting in loss of opportunity to receive higher education. Additionally, many children cannot pursue high quality education because they live in remote areas where educational opportunities are limited. There are 55 ethnic minority groups in China, which account for about 8·5% of the total Chinese population.3Population Census Office under the State CouncilDepartment of Population and Employment StatisticsNational Bureau of StatisticsTabulations on the 2010 Population Census of the People's Republic of China. China Statistics Press, Beijing2012Google Scholar Therefore, it is very important to strengthen the role of ethnic minority women in science and medicine in China. The Chinese Government has made attempts to improve the rights and to provide opportunities for ethnic minority women to contribute their talents.4Hannum E Meiyan WA Geography and educational inequality in China.China Econ Rev. 2006; 17: 253-265Crossref Scopus (95) Google Scholar For example, in medicine, a major government initiative involving large hospitals in the urban eastern provinces was launched in 2004 to support hospitals in rural western provinces.5Wang T Zeng R Addressing inequalities in China's health service.Lancet. 2015; 386: 1441Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (23) Google Scholar In education, from 2012 to 2016, the state finance of education expenditure increased from ¥2314·8 billion to ¥3137·3 billion, which covered all provinces where ethnic minority groups live, including Guizhou, Yunnan, Jilin, Ningxia, and Sichuan.6National Working Committee on Children and WomenShared care in development and progress - "Endeavour attempt for five years" large achievements of combing the cause of women and children.http://www.nwccw.gov.cn/2017-09/30/content_178281.htmDate: 2017Date accessed: December 28, 2018Google Scholar Nevertheless, China still has a long way to go in promoting the role of ethnic minority women in science and medicine. Increased efforts are required to improve educational and medical facilities in the remote and underdeveloped minority areas and provide opportunities for medical services, education, and self-reliance to all ethnic minority women in China. As an aim for the future, talented girls in minority areas should be encouraged to go to good colleges where they can be well educated before returning to their hometown. These well educated minority women will become the backbone of the local scientific research community and medical services. A step in this positive direction for women in China will not only promote development in areas of medicine and science in ethnic minority regions, but also avoid overcrowding in large hospitals in big cities. In addition, it is crucial to set up various incentive mechanisms or systems to employ minority female talents that will strive for the development of science and medicine in ethnic minority areas. The government should improve the health-care system, provide better salaries and establish training systems for ethnic minority female doctors in remote areas. The government should also expand the enrollment of ethnic minority women as medical and scientific students in universities and schools of higher education. Furthermore, the government needs to provide opportunities for minority female graduates from the best universities in China to learn, practise, and develop the skills and competencies necessary to transition to adulthood. No doubt strengthening the management of the aforementioned systems is also required. We declare no competing interests. This work was supported in part by the National Basic Research Program (973) of China (2015CB910502) and Natural Science Foundation of China (91640101).