BEIJING — China is embarking on its twice-a-decade senior leadership shuffle this week, but once again, not a single woman is expected to ascend to a top leadership role in the country.



Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam have broken barriers for women, but in mainland China, where patronage ties are crucial to securing top positions in government and the culture remains heavily patriarchal, aspiring female politicians are hitting a glass ceiling. Though slightly more female delegates have been selected to the 19th Party Congress — the ruling Communist party meeting taking place this week — advocates for women’s rights say China still has a long way to go.

There are currently no women in the elite Politburo Standing Committee, the most powerful body in China, and only two in the larger Politburo. Both of those women — vice premier Liu Yandong and Sun Chunlan, head of the Central United Front Work Department, are close to retirement age.

71-year-old Liu will likely retire this year. (Women in government are often compelled to retire five to ten years earlier than their male counterparts, though Liu is at the standard retirement age.) China’s parliament has a higher proportion of female delegates, but it is a largely rubber stamp body with limited policy making powers.

The stark lack of female representation in the political sphere represents a disconnect with China’s desire to be perceived on the international stage as an egalitarian country that’s friendly to women. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is embarking on his second term this week, has boasted about China’s history in promoting women’s rights at the UN General Assembly, for instance, and donated millions to UN Women, which promotes gender equality.

“China wants to be seen as a responsible global power, and it is still possible (though very unlikely) that the Communist Party may elevate a woman to the Standing Committee during this Congress in order to give the impression that it is more modern and friendly to women,” said Leta Hong Fincher, author of a forthcoming book called Betraying Big Brother: China's Feminist Resistance. “But the status of women relative to men over the past several decades has actually fallen in multiple ways, for example, with a gender income gap that has widened significantly.”