Sexism and Sex Selection #
In discussing the results and ramifications of China’s “one-child” policy, William Saletan revealed a fact I’d not known:
The government is very aware of the problem and has openly expressed concerns about the consequences of large numbers of excess men for societal stability and security. As early as 2000 the government launched a range of policies to specifically counter the sex imbalance, the “care for girls” campaign. This includes changes in laws in areas such as inheritance by females, as well as an educational campaign to promote gender equality. These measures have had some success, with reports of lower sex ratios at birth in targeted localities.
The result appears to have been a drop in the imbalance from 124 boys per 100 girls to 119.