A New Feminism for China? A Case Study of LEAN IN Circles in Mainland China

After the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, Chinese women have dealt with new forms of gender-based restrictions in their career advancements. LEAN IN, a community inspired by Sheryl Sandberg’s book «Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead» published in 2013, offers professional development, support and assistance to help women deal with these challenges. It has been claimed that the American- inspired women’s groups has brought a new kind of feminism to the country. However, there has not been conducted any research to prove this statement. In this thesis, I have looked at Chinese LEAN IN groups in comparison with both Sandberg’s LEAN IN concept and feminist theory. Based on participant observations and interviews conducted with LEAN IN participants, core members and guest speakers from September 2015 to January 2016, I found that Chinese LEAN IN groups have made some changes to their work away from the original LEAN IN concept in order to adapt to national conditions. Chinese LEAN IN groups’ perspectives on feminism were different from the original LEAN IN concept based on Sheryl Sandberg’s book, but had similarities with the American LEAN IN organisation’s views. With a review of the literature on feminism in China, I discovered that the American LEAN IN organisation’s concept is corresponding with the governmental organisation All-China Women’s Federation discourse on women’s development. The LEAN IN activities also resemble women’s group meetings which occurred in the early years of the reform era. LEAN IN in China cooperates with All- China Women’s Federation, who could decide to prohibit LEAN IN in China if they step out of their discourse. I argue that this puts Chinese LEAN IN groups in a dependent relation to the All-China Women’s Federation. This research shows how a certain group of people working on women’s issues in China define feminism. It is important to understand the organisations working on women’s issues in order to learn more about the Chinese feminist situation. Studying LEAN IN as an important part of a potential Chinese feminist movement could give an indicator to where the movement is heading