For the first time in 20 years, no women have been selected for the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo, an omission experts say is “a step backwards” for gender diversity, and one that may further dampen female participation in Chinese politics.
The new line-up of top party leadership that was unveiled on Sunday at the conclusion of the week-long 20th party congress was an all-man band. Further, both the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee and the 24-seat Politburo were filled exclusively with men of Han ethnicity.
Of the newly released Central Committee, women took up 11 of the 205 seats. In 2017, there were 10 women in the 204-member 19th Central Committee.
