Xinjiang women drive development amid seven decades of progress

Tourists visit the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Sept. 12, 2024. (Photo: China News Service/Liu Xin)

(ECNS) -- The Global Leaders' Meeting on Women opened Monday in Beijing, spotlighting global efforts toward gender equality. That commitment is reflected in the evolving role of women in China's Xinjiang region, where seven decades of progress have fueled regional and national development.

Since the founding of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 1955, women of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have devoted themselves to promoting high-quality economic and social development in the region.

Women's federations at all levels across Xinjiang have been working across multiple areas, including poverty alleviation, rural revitalization and scientific innovation, to help women in both urban and rural areas enhance their skills and increase their incomes.

Official data shows that since the founding of the autonomous region, women's federations have actively secured funding to promote employment and entrepreneurship, delivering skills training to nearly two million participants and supporting the establishment of over 400 women-led enterprises.

They have proactively partnered with major banks to launch a series of financial products supporting women's entrepreneurship, with cumulative loans disbursed amounting to 17.86 billion yuan (about $2.51 billion).

Xinjiang has launched organizations such as the Women Entrepreneurs Association and the Association for Women in Science and Technology. Over the years, initiatives including vocational training, innovation contests, job fairs and skills competitions have helped unlock women's development potential, making them active contributors to—and beneficiaries of—economic and social progress.