Chapter 1: How Culture Influences Gender Roles and Expectations in Chinese Culture

Gender inequality is an issue that permeates political, social, and workforce cultures around the world. According to Hannum, Kong, and Zhang (2009), women have struggled globally to maintain equal status and employment with their male counterparts. In the United States, this inequity actuates gender disparities within the culture and influences major issues such as the underrepresentation of women in many occupations, political environments, positions of power, and leadership roles (Barreto, Ryan, & Schmitt, 2009; Conway, 2001; Pettit & Hook, 2009). More specifically, in the United States, the unequal representations of women in certain occupations reflect the gender inequities and biases in the American educational system (Jacobs, 1996).