Empirical Study of Gender Differences and Regional Economic Development

With the widening of gender differences in modern society, the unequal treatment of women has also gradually deepened. On average, femalea are less educated than males in most of the provinces in China. This paper analyzes the relationship between educational levels of males and females in different regions and the regional economic development by using the gross regional product per capita during the last five years and annual data of male and female population with a college degree and above, which is sampled by province, and discusses whether gender differences will affect the local economic development. Through the analysis of existing data, it can be concluded that regions with a higher degree of gender discrimination have a lower GDP, and the gender discrimination rate is negatively correlated with GDP. Finally, this research summarized possible explanations for this phenomenon from the aspects of education level, labor participation rate and so on. So, because of gender the average education level of women might be negatively affected by discrimination, thus affecting the quantity and quality of work undertaken by women in society. Similarly, labor participation rates can also be affected by discrimination against a particular sex, where discrimination against men in a particular area or industry prevents male from entering the factory and contributing to the labor force. These phenomena will definitely bring about an undervalued development potential for the industry or area.