Son preference in China

Son preference in China is a gender preference issue underpinned by the belief that boys have more value than girls. In China, the bias towards male over female offspring is demonstrated by the sex ratio at birth (SRB).

Key factors driving the son preference include the economic impact on families, since men are expected to care for their parents in old age, while women are not. Further, Chinese agrarian society influences sex preference, as agriculture is often perceived as men's work in China.

These issues were dramatically compounded by the implementation of the Chinese Communist Party's one-child rule in 1979.