All-China Women's Federation

Pre-1949: Women's movement prior to the CCP and predecessors The early women's movement in China focused on eradicating the assumption that women were inferior to men. The Chinese women's movement gained a new momentum with the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Women who had been dominant in the women's movement and the CCP were included in the federation's leadership. Cai Chang, a prominent leader in the women's movement since, an active CCP member, and a veteran of the Long March, was the first chair of the organization. The organization began as a federation of various regional women's groups with the dual goals of building a socialist China and promoting the status of women. The ACWF soon developed beyond its original mission of promoting gender equality, and it became a tool used by the party to mobilize women for economic, political and ideological motives. Women activists helped peasant women prepare to speak in public, including by roleplaying as landlords to help such women practice. Around 1957, the ACWF entered a new phase, dropping "Democratic" from its name, as the federation was formally incorporated in the party structure. It entered the administrative hierarchy of the state, and declared itself a mass organization. In the period prior to the Cultural Revolution, the ACWF was among organizations which hosted birth planning exhibitions to educate the public about contraception, abortion, IUDs, and sterilization procedures. In addition to this, the ACWF played an important role internationally for the CCP. but, while other federations were able to resume work in the early 1970s, the ACWF did not resume work on a national level until 1978. This body compiled and published historical material and analysis of the women's movement, which it circulated as a journal from 1981 to 1986. With these changes, the ACWF became less concerned with mobilizing grass roots organization, and focused on its role in setting the public discourse for the social and political issues of women. While the federation expanded in size, it became increasingly difficult to continue to reach all Chinese women through traditional channels. At the 2026 International Women's Day, ACWF head Shen Yiqin called on women to follow the CCP, support the 15th five-year plan, and "consolidate the family foundation for Chinese-style modernization." ==Organization==

Structure According to the ''Regulations on the Functional Configuration, Internal Structure, and Staffing of the All-China Women's Federation'', the ACWF is a ministerial-level organization administered under the Civil Servant Law. The federation has established the following institutions: Internal Departments • General Office • Organization Department • Publicity Department • Department of Women's Development • Department of Rights Protection • Department of Family and Children's Affairs • Liaison Department • Office of the State Council Working Committee on Women and Children • CPC Committee of the ACWF • Bureau for Retired Cadres Directly Affiliated Public Institutions • Women's Studies Institute of China The federation currently has seven functional departments to carry out this work: the Department for Children, the International Liaison Department, the Department for Women's Development, the Publicity Department, the Department for Women's Rights and Interests, the Human Resources Development Department and the General Office. The ACWF maintains a strong connection to the CCP through the women's committees in the government. These committees cover topics ranging from systems of education, science, arts and medicine. Among other research, since 1990 the ACWF conducts the national survey on women's status. Structure Interaction with the Chinese Communist Party Though the All-China Women's Federation claims itself as an NGO, its longstanding relationship with the CCP means that the party still has interests in the federation and its members. The four levels of the federation still coincide with the state administrative system. ACWF employees are public servants who must pass the examinations required of public servants. Grass root versus upper levels of the ACWF The All-China Women's Federation is run from the national level with the provincial, municipal, county, district and village levels below it. However it is considered a nominal hierarchical structure because the Party controls each level over and above the jurisdiction of the ACWF. Instead of direct control, the higher levels provide guidance, ideas, and trainings to the levels below it. Some members have complained that women trained by the party are promoted more rapidly than women trained by the ACWF. Due to this perceived promotion rate, the grass roots members are incentivized to follow the demands of the party instead of the demands of the ACWF. Other members of the ACWF believe that the grassroots structure is successfully in touch with the women they are working for since they are on the front lines of the movement, and see little problem with the disconnect between the upper levels of the party and grassroots levels. Relationship with the women's movement One of the problems that the All-China Women's Federation has identified is that women in China do not understand the federation's contributions or significance in the women's movement. The members of the ACWF identified two potential sources for the lack of understanding. The first is that the ACWF has many roles and branch organizations which may be obscuring the contribution it is making. The second is that it has lacked consistency in how it has represented women, especially during its early years. Another problem facing the ACWF is its relationship with the international women's movement. == March 8th Red Banner awards ==

The March 8th Red Banner Bearer (), March 8th Red Banner Pacesetter (), and March 8th Red Banner Collective () awards are honors given by the All-China Women's Federation on March 8, International Women's Day, to recognize outstanding women in China. The red banner bearer and red banner pacesetter awards are given to individuals, with the pacesetter award being more selective and prestigious, while the collective award is given to groups. The awards are given on both the national and the provincial level. These awards began to be awarded in 1960, stopped for a period, and resumed in 1979. Initially, the awards were motivated by the goal of expanding the workforce to include more women. The 1960 awards were hosted by the All-China Women's Federation together with China National Radio and eight other organizations. In 1960, they were awarded based on political criteria and based on contributions to industry and technology. ==Challenges==

Cooperation with outside women's groups The All-China Women's Federation is the largest women's organization in China and the only women's organization still in existence that appeared before the 1980s. ==See also==