Wang Xiaoli: Empowering the High-Quality Development of Women's Causes Through Scientific and Technological Innovation
On October 13, President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the Global Summit on Women at the China National Convention Center in Beijing and delivered a keynote speech titled "Carrying Forward the Spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women and Accelerating the New Process of Women's Comprehensive Development." President Xi emphasized the need to "jointly cultivate strong momentum for promoting the high-quality development of women's causes" and to "seize the opportunities of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, empower the high-quality development of women's causes with scientific and technological innovation, and support women in playing a greater role in green development." This is both a scientific summation of China's practice in women's development from the height of global progress and an urgent necessity for responding to current complex world challenges and preventing the risk of backsliding in global women's causes. Furthermore, it is a requirement of the times [1] to grasp the opportunities of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation and to unleash the potential for women's entrepreneurship and employment to the greatest extent possible.
Scientific and Technological Innovation Injects Strong Momentum into the Development of China's Women's Causes
Currently, the new round of technological revolution, represented by digital technology, is profoundly reshaping the landscape of social and economic development. It is also injecting new and powerful momentum into gender equality and women's causes on a global scale. China has constructed a systematized policy support system and achieved substantial progress in promoting women’s participation in scientific and technological innovation and industrial transformation.
Chinese women are scaling new heights at the frontier of scientific and technological innovation. In June 2021, thirteen departments, including the Ministry of Science and Technology, jointly issued "Several Measures to Support Female Scientific and Technological Talent in Playing a Greater Role in Scientific and Technological Innovation," creating a favorable environment for the growth and development of female scientific and technological talent. By 2024, the number of female scientific and technological personnel in China reached 40 million, accounting for over 45% of the total number of scientific and technological workers. Women in Research and Development (R&D) nationwide reached 2.846 million, an increase of 1.692 million compared to 2012, reflecting a continuous optimization of the gender structure in scientific fields. The age limit for female researchers applying for the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars has been relaxed from 45 to 48 years old. High-level forums such as the Zhongguancun Forum, Pujiang Innovation Forum, and World AI Conference have established special activities for women in science. Public welfare projects and various exchange platforms, such as "Science Has Her—Girls Love Science," "Spring Bud [2] Tech Girls," "Explore the Future Tech Women Training Program," and the "Female Scientist Growth Plan," are being continuously established. China’s female scientific and technological workers are constantly injecting "she-power" into the accelerated realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening. Outstanding representatives of Chinese women, such as Tu Youyou, the first Chinese female scientist to win a Nobel Prize; Fu Qiaomei, a "post-80s" [3] scientist long engaged in paleogenetics; Jiang Jie, former chief designer of the Long March 3A rocket series; and Huang Hui, Dean of the College of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Shenzhen University, have showcased a "heroic [4] image" of women striving to be the first in scientific fields.
Artificial intelligence has become an "accelerator" for promoting women's development, and digital technology is systematically broadening the paths for women's participation in economic construction. The Action Outline for Improving National Digital Literacy and Skills and the Digital Countryside Development Action Plan (2022–2025) explicitly propose measures such as carrying out digital skills training for women and cultivating "Heroic [4] E-commerce" brands. The digital economy has given birth to numerous emerging industries, such as big data analysis, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, e-sports, data labeling, and digital marketing. By providing various flexible skills training and utilizing data analysis tools, these industries help women grasp the opportunities of the era and enter emerging sectors. Currently, women entrepreneurs account for more than half of internet-based startups, and women make up about one-third of the digital trade and live-streaming industries. In 2024, over 14,000 women obtained vocational skill level certificates as AI trainers. Specialized projects such as data labeling positions, "Beautiful Workshops" live-streaming training, and "Mother's Taste" common prosperity markets have created broad spaces for women to participate in economic activities, pushing women to actively integrate into the tide of the digital economy and continuously releasing the "gender dividend" of the digital economy.
Seizing the Opportunities of the New Round of Technological Revolution and Industrial Transformation to Give Play to Women’s Subjective Role
At present, with the rapid advancement of next-generation information technologies such as AI, big data, cloud computing, and quantum information, "Women and Technology" has become a major concern for global women’s causes. China actively provides opportunities and safeguards for the development of global women’s causes through its own development. At the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, China proposed the Global AI Governance Initiative, emphasizing the avoidance of gender discrimination in AI development. At the 78th UN General Assembly, China proposed and promoted the adoption of the resolution "Strengthening International Cooperation on Capacity Building of Artificial Intelligence," emphasizing the need to ensure that everyone fully enjoys the benefits of AI, improving digital inclusion, achieving gender equality, and empowering women and girls. In July 2025, China announced the establishment of the Global Digital Empowerment for Women's Development Exchange and Cooperation Center, dedicated to eliminating the digital gender gap and promoting innovative practices in the international joint governance of digital technology, assisting in the cultivation of and cooperation among global female digital talent. Regarding international cooperation, China actively promotes the joint hosting of seminars with international organizations such as the United Nations, including the "Seminar on E-commerce and Digital Economy Capacity Building for Female Entrepreneurs from Developing Countries," the "Seminar on Women’s Capacity Building for Asian Countries," and the "Seminar on Women’s Capacity Building for African Francophone Countries." These provide opportunities for participants to visit digital technology application scenarios such as China’s smart city platforms, integrated media centers, and live-streaming bases.
In fields such as education and training, entrepreneurial support, agricultural production, and medical health, the international community is also actively promoting female participation through technological applications, especially digital technology. For example, the African Union, UN Women, and the International Telecommunication Union jointly launched the "African Girls Can Code" initiative to help them enter the field of AI careers and integrate gender equality and coding education into national education systems. In the future, we should further consolidate digital infrastructure, eliminate the gender gap, and integrate women’s digital literacy and skills into the national education system to achieve the institutionalization and systematization of education and training, while providing specialized digital skills training for women with special needs. We must build a gender-inclusive technology industry ecosystem, especially a digital industry ecosystem—for example, by developing more digital professions and positions suitable for women, promoting the digital empowerment of service industries such as domestic services, elderly care, childcare, and psychological counseling, and tapping into employment and entrepreneurial positions "at the doorstep." We should strengthen the protection of women's labor rights and interests in the digital economy as well as family support policies, improving the policy guarantee system and social support network.
Facing the opportunities of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation such as digital technology and AI, China is committed to creating an open, fair, and just environment for scientific and technological development. This promotes women's full, equal, and meaningful participation in and leadership of the digital transformation. It pushes for the elimination of bias and discrimination against women at the source of digital intelligence technology, contributing Chinese power and Chinese wisdom to the development of global women's causes, so that scientific and technological innovation further becomes a strong engine for the high-quality development of women's causes.