Gender, Law and Legal Professions in China

Based on surveys, interviews, and archival research, this paper attempts to analyze Chinese women’s current status and impact in the legal professions.

This paper introduces and compares the Chinese pioneer women lawyers and some current model women judges to demonstrate that so-called “legal characteristics” and “female temperament” do not necessarily conflict. In the past, being affected by biological determinism, gender essentialism and dualism hierarchy; the ability of women to study law and work in the legal professions was not fully implemented. Since Chinese judicial reform started to pursue harmonious justice and multiple dispute settlement mechanisms, Chinese women judges, due to their abilities of mediation, have played more of an important role in the Chinese judicial system. Sex discrimination and gender bias however still exists in the legal professions in China.