Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- On the face of it , women in China seem to have cracked the code for success . Seven of world 's top 10 wealthiest self-made women are Chinese . Property tycoon Zhang Xin is richer than Oprah . And a girl-power chick flick called `` Tiny Times '' broke the mainland 's opening-day box office record earlier this summer . But do n't let the headlines fool you . In China , as in many other corners of the world , women are under pressure , under-represented , and under threat . A preference for boys under China 's one-child policy continues to this day . Access to cheap ultrasound and and abortions has led to widespread selective abortion of female fetuses . According to the China Statistics Bureau , there are now 34 million more men than women in China . OPINION : China 's biggest problem ? Too many men . Marital property in China belongs to the one person who owns the home -- who is , more often than not , a man . And there 's not a single woman on the ruling Communist Party 's seven-member Politburo Standing Committee . `` So when it comes to women 's issues , who will speak for women ? '' asks former legislator and committed feminist Wu Qing . For CNN 's `` On China , '' I talked to Wu and two high-profile observers of women 's issues in China -- Tsinghua University scholar Leta Hong Fincher and bestselling author Joy Chen -- on the state of gender inequality in China . Wu squarely blames the government for not trying hard enough to shore up women 's rights by implementing the constitution . `` Article 33 says every single citizen of the People 's Republic of China should be treated equally , '' Wu points out . `` And , according to Article 48 on women , women should enjoy equal rights in the economy , in politics , in everything . '' `` And yet , China is still rule of man , by man . '' OPINION : What Chinese women want . Beijing is not only failing to represent the needs of women . It 's putting its own interests ahead of China 's increasingly educated and single female population . According to Hong Fincher , there has been an active state media campaign to promote the term `` leftover women , '' a derogatory term referring to spoiled food that 's been used to shame China 's urban educated women over the age of 27 who are still single . The term was defined by the All China 's Women 's Federation in 2007 . `` After the Women 's Federation defined this term , then the state media started aggressively pushing it , '' Hong Fincher tells me . `` There 's been a stream of reports insulting educated women in their late 20s who do n't have a husband yet . '' `` It 's insulting not just to single women , '' says Joy Chen . `` It 's insulting to all women and all men because it basically says you 're legitimate to the extent that you 're married . '' `` And the leftover label is everywhere in society , '' Chen adds . `` Your plumber tells you to hurry and get married if you 're a single woman with an apartment . '' OPINION : Single Chinese women say ' I wo n't ' Hong Fincher argues that the term is part of a government program to upgrade population quality : `` So what they want to do is promote match -making to encourage or scare educated women into having a child because that fits the government 's demographic goals . '' Despite all the social pressure and lack of government support , there are the outliers among Chinese women -- extreme examples of extraordinary success . So what pushed them to go so far ? `` These women who are multi-millionaires have made it in spite of being in China , not because of it , '' says Hong Fincher . `` I wish that those women would speak out more on behalf of women all across China . '' Wu herself is an outlier among China 's women . A former university professor and a member of the Haidian district 's People 's Congress for 27 years , she is a tireless activist . And she is speaking out on behalf of China 's women as a women 's rights advocate and a founder of a school to empower rural women . `` We need to have a very clear goal in our lives , know what we want , '' Wu tells me . `` I was lucky that when I was a little girl , my mom told me that I 'm a human being first before I 'm a girl or a woman . '' To crack the code for success , do n't say you 're a woman first .
Chinese women may feature on rich lists but many take second place to men . Comment: Preference for boys continues due to China 's one-child policy .