Holding up half the sky: Women at China's Two Sessions

Every March, Beijing becomes the focal point of China's political life as the country enters its annual Two Sessions, meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Inside the Great Hall of the People, thousands of lawmakers, political advisors, scholars and representatives from every corner of society gather to debate national priorities, pass legislation and set the tone for the year ahead.

The timing added extra significance this year as International Women's Day fell on March 8, right in the middle of the Two Sessions, drawing fresh attention to the women shaping conversations at the heart of China's policymaking. 

This year marked a record high for female representation, with women making up 26.5% of NPC deputies and 22.4% of CPPCC members.

The familiar saying that "women hold up half the sky" feels especially relevant today. At the Two Sessions, female delegates turned the spotlight on public concerns and pushed forward ideas with real-world impact. Whether advocating for better classroom resources, protecting cultural heritage, improving public health, or promoting sustainable and regional development, their contributions reflected both professional expertise and personal commitment.

This national stage is where local voices meet national decision-making, and where proposals rooted in everyday experience can influence long-term policy. The growing visibility of women at the meetings is a sign of how women are shaping the conversation.

As this year's Two Sessions draws to a close, these lawmakers offer a reminder that behind China's most closely watched political meetings are women whose ideas, advocacy and leadership continue to influence the country's evolving agenda.

Here's a closer look at a few of the remarkable women who are helping shape China's future, and championing opportunities for others like them along the way.

A member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC and chief expert at the Reproductive Medicine Center of Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Lu Weiying has spent more than 36 years supporting families struggling with infertility. Drawing on her experience, Lu has been a strong advocate for fertility‑friendly policies. In 2023, she submitted a proposal to include assisted reproductive technology in the national medical insurance system, which has since been implemented nationwide. Last year, she called for stronger support for affordable childcare for children aged 0 to 3, along with better training and incentives for nursery teachers. This year, her proposals focused on protecting fertility for special groups, promoting stem cell donation and safeguarding minors in families facing difficulties.

Jin Ruirui is an NPC deputy, president of the Chuxiong Yi Embroidery Association and an inheritor of Yi embroidery. She has brought the embroidery from the mountains to international runways in Milan, Paris and New York, and highlights the contributions of women in shaping China's future. Over the years, she has helped establish more than 20 embroidery workshops and trained more than 2,000 local women, while helping 32 of them start their own businesses. Her company, which she started in 2014, also provides free training for people with disabilities, and nearly 100 disabled embroiderers have received customized training programs. Jin also traveled across Yi villages, visiting veteran embroiderers to collect traditional patterns and preserve classic stitching techniques. Since becoming an NPC deputy in 2023, she has been bringing the voices of embroiderers to the national stage while advocating greater collaboration among different ethnic heritage crafts.

Hu Chunlian, an NPC deputy from the Hunan delegation and outpatient department director at Yueyang People's Hospital, advocates women's issues, particularly strengthening birth support policies. She called for women's reproductive health to be integrated into the public health service system, managing women's reproductive health conditions the same way chronic diseases would be managed. Another suggestion she made was that fathers should share in the responsibility of raising the child. Hu proposed having paid paternity leave of one to two months which would help fathers to support mothers in sharing caregiving responsibilities and easing pressure of having a newborn.

Li Cuili is an NPC deputy from Lishi Village in Henan Province. She runs a small grocery store in her rural village, which was partly transformed into a small library, known as Glimmer Library. In 2008, she turned her most popular and front-facing shelves into a little library, replacing liquor bottles with books. In the earlier days of the library, Li would ride her tricycle around the county in search of second-hand books to stock her shelves with. Today, beyond being a shop owner, a writer and the founder of Glimmer Library, Li also organizes legal literacy classes for rural women, and helps tell the stories of the elderly, a form of preserved history. For her, having this platform and being part of the events at the Great Hall of the People makes her more appreciative of where she's from and more determined to be a good person and help those in her village. "No matter what identity others have given you, you should always believe that being a good ordinary person is the most important thing," she said in a media interview.

Wang Yaping is a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC and the first female taikonaut to enter China's space station. During this year's meetings, she discussed China's acceleration in space advancement. She said that the China Astronaut Research and Training Center is taking the lead in applying to establish a ground-based research facility to address the challenges of long-term human survival beyond Earth. During previous Two Sessions, Wang has submitted proposals to improve the transformation and application of scientific achievements for popular science education among the youth, with the aim of providing students access to more platforms to learn about science and technology.