Her boss, a woman who had been advocating for her to be given a leadership role, left the team while Ms. Zhao was on a five-month maternity leave. After college, Ms. Zhao set aside her dream of becoming a civil servant to pursue a higher-paying job. (Nearly a third of Chinese women have college degrees now, up from fewer than 1 percent in 1990.) Six months after Ning was born, Ms. Tang returned to her office, leaving the baby in the care of a grandmother. Her husband and in-laws oppose the move, but Ms. Tang doesn’t want to be held back.

---

Persons: doesn’t, Xi Jinping, —, ” Joyce Zhao, Joyce Zhao, Ming, Zhao, Ms, “, Ming’s, ” Ms, ”, ” Guo Chunlei, Guo Chunlei, Guo, Tianyi, ” Tang Pingjuan, Tang Pingjuan, Tang, Ning, Tang doesn’t Locations: Beijing, China, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen