There is growing evidence in China that son preference is on the decline. But sex ratios at birth, despite a recent small reduction, are still the highest in the world at around 120 male births to every 100 females. We carried out this research to explore current attitudes towards gender...

Evidence from many countries shows that as societies modernise and women’s status rises, son preference declines. Yet in China the sex ratio at birth has been the highest in the world for over two decades despite rapid modernisation, urbanisation and huge improvements in women’s...