Family Planning Policy in China and the Gender Equality in Family and Labor Market

This article examines the effects of China’s Family Planning Policy (FPP) on the gender wealth gap and the division of housework within Chinese families. Initially, the study applies dependency theory to analyze the influence of the FPP on Chinese families. Firstly, we find that there was no significant gender wealth gap during the One-Child Policy (OCP) period, which indicates that the OCP indirectly reduced the economic dependence of Chinese women on their husbands by narrowing the gender wealth gap. Secondly, despite an increase in male participation in housework during the OCP, the dependency of males on females for housework and childcare remained unchanged. These factors exerted pressure on Chinese women and influenced their overall life satisfaction.