Enhancing Social Security for Urban Women
2 min readEnhancing Social Security for Urban Women
In recent years，the Chinese government has stepped up the construction of a social security system，with pension insurance，unemployment insurance，medical insurance，employment injury insurance and maternity insurance as the main contents.It has also carried out significant reforms of the urban social relief system，and gradually established and improved three funds:minimum urban living guarantee fund，basic living guarantee for laid-off workers fund and unemployment guarantee fund.The Trial Measures for Maternity Insurance of Enterprise Employees the state promulgated in 1994 put maternity insurance，which used to be borne by employers，under overall social planning.
By the end of 2004，the practice of overall social planning had been introduced in 28 provinces，autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government，with 43.84 million employees，or 60 percent of the total number of urban employees covered.In October 1999，the Regulations on the Minimum Standard of Living for Urban Residents went into effect.By the end of 2004，22.05 million urban residents，including women，were receiving minimum subsistence allowances.All those who needed such help were by and large covered.
Giving Full Play to Women’s Role in the Rural Economy
China is basically an agricultural country，and women account for more than 60 percent of the rural labor force and are a major force in farming activities.The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Rural Land Contracting，which came into effect in 2003，states that women and men enjoy equal rights in contracting land in rural areas，and no organization or individual shall deprive women of the right to contract and operate land or infringe upon their right to do so.
In recent years，the Chinese government has adopted active policies and measures to solve the problems concerningagriculture，rural areas and farmers，increased its input into agriculture，pushed forward tax reform in rural areas，and implemented the strategy of invigorating agriculture by applying science and technology.Government departments and women’s federations at all levels have jointly organized activitiles to encourage rural women to acquire knowledge and learn science and technology，and-compete in their development and contributions，so as to bring their role in invigorating and developing the rural economy into full play.
