Sun Chunlan, China’s “Iron Lady” and the only woman in the ruling party’s Politburo, is due to step down from her post at the 20th Communist Party Congress this week. There’s no guarantee that another woman will succeed her, providing yet another example of the systemic under-representation of Chinese women in leadership positions, which can have very real consequences for the world’s most populous nation.
Sun Chunlan is a special case in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) galaxy: She is the only woman in the Politburo, the Beijing regime’s powerful executive body. But it’s not for long. Sun is expected to step down from her post during the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress, the weeklong, twice-a-decade meeting, which began on Sunday, October 16. At 72, China’s “Iron Lady” is past the usual retirement age of 68.
