Yiping Cai is not your average graduate student. Before arriving at UCI to pursue her Ph.D. in global studies, she had a rich career in journalism, activism, and research in Beijing.   

“I believe that knowledge should not only stem from the wisdom of great thinkers but from practical experience,” she says.

This belief guides her approach to seeking and sharing her work, enabling her to blend her personal history and professional experience into her research.

Cai’s Ph.D. advisor Vibhuti Ramachandran, UCI assistant professor of global and international studies, underscores the viewpoint that enriches Cai's research.

“She comes to her research with an impressive depth and breadth of insight across many decades of advocacy work in China and globally. She's seen first-hand the trajectories of Chinese NGOs and how the concept of gender has featured centrally in their global engagements,” she says.

A family tradition

Both of Cai’s parents grew up in rural China at a time when access to higher education was rare for people from those areas. Her mother earned a bachelor’s degree but couldn’t continue her studies once the Cultural Revolution began. When it ended, her mother returned to school, despite having two children at the time. Her father became a manager in a state-owned enterprise, significantly elevating his social and economic status.

Cai was born in Tianjin, a city close to Beijing. She earned her bachelor’s in history from Peking University and stayed on to receive a master’s degree in history. After college, she pursued a career as a journalist, working for a newspaper that focused on women’s issues. This provided her with a unique opportunity to travel to remote and impoverished areas in China.

“I interviewed people affected by poverty, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, and more. This experience helped me grasp social complexities and gave me confidence that many injustices and inequalities can be fixed, if the people and communities being affected by these issues can participate in the process,” she says.

As a journalist, Cai became active in women's civil society groups - non-governmental, non-profit organizations - that operate independently from the Chinese government. These groups include NGOs, community-based grassroots groups, and more.

Cai’s mother is a professor who studies and teaches feminism and women’s history. This is both inspiring and complex.

“While I value her expertise, I wanted to establish my own career. Initially, I distanced myself by pursuing journalism and working with international organizations. But now, I've come to appreciate the value of our mother-daughter relationship and see her as my role model. Both my family background and my career shaped my interest in working on women's rights, gender equality, and social justice,” she says. “I've always worked in gender studies and women's rights advocacy. It’s part of my life.”

In 2018, Cai returned to Peking University and received a master’s in human rights law. Her unique path allowed her to make connections with scholars from both the Global South and North. The American scholars she met at conferences referred her to UCI’s new doctoral program in global studies.

A pleasant surprise

Cai is currently in her fourth year of her UCI graduate program. She has passed her qualifying exams and has begun work on her dissertation. Her research sheds light on an often overlooked part of China's global presence. Her work uncovers the critical contributions of Chinese civil society organizations in advancing women's rights and gender advocacy within the Global South and in international spaces like the UN.

“She works on important issues of global significance,” says Ramachandran. “What gets discussed on the global stage is the role of the Chinese state or Chinese corporations. But Chinese NGOs play an important role in China's global engagements, specifically around gender and women's rights. By focusing on them, Yiping is expanding our understanding of Global China and making significant contributions to multiple fields - global studies, critical NGO studies, gender and sexuality studies, to name just a few.”

Cai is part of the first cohort to enter the Ph.D. in global studies. Most of her assumptions about the program have been accurate: the curriculum is interdisciplinary, and the growing faculty is not only supportive, but also truly experts in their field. What’s surprised her the most is her fellow classmates.   

“You can choose your program and your university, but you can’t choose your cohort. I was pleasantly surprised about how great they turned out to be,” she says.

Now that they have all moved on to the dissertation part of their degree, her classmates regularly meet to discuss their progress and frustrations.

“We’re friends. We’ve created a network and a supportive community,” she says.

A meaningful impact

Cai not only values the friendships she has formed but is inspired by her cohort's unwavering commitment to social justice. At the School of Social Sciences, she has found a nurturing environment that bolsters this culture.

"I was pleasantly surprised by the institution's strong commitment to activism. This dedication to social justice was something I didn't expect," she says.

Knowledge as a tool for empowerment is a belief that resonates strongly with Cai. She stresses the importance of creating work that is both accessible and practical.

“The purpose of my study is to contribute not only to the advancement of existing knowledge but also to benefit those in the community, especially those who lack privilege and equal opportunities. It’s not just about furthering my own career or academic standing; it’s about making a meaningful impact on others,” she says.

According to Cai, the culture in the global studies department encourages students to unlearn as they learn and to be curious about what they don’t know.

“This critical perspective provides a thoughtful environment that allows for a deeper exploration of these issues that I couldn’t find elsewhere,” she says.

Graduation and beyond

Looking ahead, Cai isn’t sure if she will choose a career primarily with an NGO or in academia because she doesn’t see that following one path excludes the other. Either way, she hopes to bridge the gap between theory and practice. She’s been fortunate to have role models who are working on both sides, such as her colleagues in the southern feminist network, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), which she has been associated with for a decade.

“I hope this six-year journey will allow me to see the world beyond what I imagined before coming to UCI. I see this degree as a way to diversify and expand my horizons personally, academically, and in civil engagement,” she says.

When Cai left China for the U.S., her parents told her not to worry about them. They told her that they would take good care of each other, and they’d see her at her graduation.

“My parents have always been supportive of my choices, and they dream of attending my graduation,” she says. “I'm working hard to make that happen.”

-Jill Kato for UCI School of Social Sciences

-pictured: Yiping Cai observed the 85th session of the United Nations CEDAW Committee in May 2023 in Geneva. Cai joined the Women’s March to commemorate the International Women’s Day at New York City on March 8, 2015.