According to UN Women, more than twice as many women—17—head a country today than about a decade ago. There are plenty of countries that are out of step with this improving trend, and among them, China is a standout.
Its neighbors Taiwan and Hong Kong have elected female leaders—Tsai Ing-wen and Carrie Lam, respectively—but China has not seen a women seated on the Communist Party’s highest body since it came to power in 1949. That’s despite its outward support of women’s advancement—President Xi Jingping announced a $10 million donation to UN Women in 2015.
A New York Times‘ story looking into the decades-long drought cites discrimination as a factor. But beyond that broad and unsurprising explanation, two other, unique forces are at work, and I find them particularly fascinating.
China abides by a system of mandatory retirement ages that requires female party cadres to leave work earlier—at age 55—than their male counterparts, who are supposed to depart at 60 (but many push that deadline back a few years). That early cutoff for women, based on the assumption that they will be the ones caring for grandchildren and aging parents, plucks female candidates from contention as their careers start to peak.
What’s more, China’s newly adopted “two-child policy” is putting even more pressure on women to stay home, meaning caregiving duties also weigh on the middle of their careers.
Women’s rights activists are urging the Communist Party to promote more women to leadership positions as its members gather this fall to decide who will lead the party in its eighth decade of power. But experts aren’t optimistic that the tide will turn. Cheng Li, director of the Brookings Institution’s China Center, wrote recently: “[I]t would take a miracle for a woman to become head of the People’s Republic of China in the foreseeable future.”
Tune in to the livestream of Fortune‘s Brainstorm Tech conference today to see interviews with Kirsten Green, the founder of Forerunner Ventures, and Margo Georgiadis, the new CEO of Mattel. They’ll both take the stage on day two.