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Gender and Work in Urban China Although it is generally believed in China that socialism raised women’s status and paid work liberated them from the shackles of patriarchy, the economic reforms of the last two decades of the twentieth century meant women workers were more vulnerable to losing their jobs than their male counterparts. Unlike previous studies, which have focused on the macro- structural features of this process, this book makes the voices of ordinary women workers heard and applies feminist perspectives on women and work to the Chinese situation. Drawing upon extensive life history interviews, this book contests the view that mobilizing women into the workplace brought about their liber- ation. Instead, the gendered redundancy they experienced was the culmin- ation of a lifetime’s experiences of gender inequalities. Setting their life stories against a backdrop of great social–political upheaval in China, the book suggests that the women of this ‘unlucky generation’ have borne the brunt of sufferings caused by sacrifices they made for the development of socialist China. In particular, it highlights the role of the work unit (danwei) during the pre-reform period and how this constrained opportunities for these women, operating as an arbiter of their careers and personal lives and continuing the patriarchal function of pre-socialist institutions. In blending sociological and feminist analysis with cultural sensitivity to the study of Chinese women workers, the interdisciplinary nature of Gender and Work in Urban China will interest scholars of Chinese society, gender, culture and politics. Liu Jieyu is Lecturer of Sociology at the University of Glasgow. Routledge Contemporary China Series Nationalism, Democracy and National Integration in China Leong Liew and Wang Shaoguang Hong Kong’s Tortuous Democratization A comparative analysis Ming Sing China’s Business Reforms Institutional challenges in a globalised economy Edited by Russell Smyth and Cherrie Zhu Challenges for China’s Development An enterprise perspective Edited by David H. Brown and Alasdair MacBean New Crime in China Public order and human rights Ron Keith and Zhiqiu Lin Non-Governmental Organizations in Contemporary China Paving the way to civil society? Qiusha Ma Globalization and the Chinese City Fulong Wu The Politics of China’s Accession to the World Trade Organization The dragon goes global Hui Feng Narrating China Jia Pingwa and his fictional world Yiyan Wang Sex, Science and Morality in China Joanne McMillan Politics in China Since 1949 Legitimizing authoritarian rule Robert Weatherley International Human Resource Management in Chinese Multinationals Jie Shen and Vincent Edwards Unemployment in China Economy, human resources and labour markets Edited by Grace Lee and Malcolm Warner China and Africa Engagement and compromise Ian Taylor Gender and Education in China Gender discourses and women’s schooling in the early twentieth century Paul J. Bailey SARS Reception and interpretation in three Chinese cities Edited by Deborah Davis and Helen Siu Human Security and the Chinese State Historical transformations and the modern quest for sovereignty Robert E. Bedeski Gender and Work in Urban China Women workers of the unlucky generation Liu Jieyu Gender and Work in Urban China Women workers of the unlucky generation Liu Jieyu First published 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2007 Liu Jieyu All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Liu, Jieyu, 1978– Gender and work in urban China : women workers of the unlucky generation / by Liu Jieyu. p. cm.—(Routledge contemporary China series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978–0–415–39211–2 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Women employees–China. 2. Sex discrimination in employment–China. 3. Women–China–Social conditions. I. Title. HD6200.L56 2007 331.40951—dc22 2006024344 ISBN 0-203-96493-4 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–39211–X (hbk) ISBN10: 0–203–96493–4 (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–39211–2 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–96493–4 (ebk) For my mother and all the women workers from the unlucky generation Contents List of figures and tables xi Acknowledgements xiii 1 Introduction 1 2 Researching Chinese women’s lives 13 3 Growing up in the Mao era 25 4 The danwei: Gender at work 41 5 Living in the danwei: The intersection between work and family life 65 6 Returning home 87 7 Life has to go on 107 8 Mothers’ pasts, daughters’ presents and futures 125 9 Conclusion 139 Appendix A: Characteristics of 33 women in the Mothers’ generation 147 Appendix B: Comparison in education and job (aspiration) between Mothers and Daughters 148 Appendix C: Biographical sketches of the interviewees 149 x Contents Notes 157 Bibliography 163 Index 175 List of figures and tables Figure 1 Feminist framework 9 Tables 2.1 Links between researcher, the intermediary and the interviewee 17 4.1 Proposed action towards the perpetrator 61 5.1 Housing situation of 33 women 69 5.2 The work pattern of 33 women 78 6.1 Financial remuneration received by women according to types of work unit and industry, forms of redundancy and year of redundancy (Unit: yuan) 89 7.1 The characteristics of the core contact in first job search of 17 women interviewees who used informal methods 114 Acknowledgements This book began its life as a doctoral thesis at the University of York. Over the years in which it has slowly taken shape, numerous people have helped to make it possible. I owe thanks first of all to my supervisors, Stevi Jackson and Anne Akeroyd, who offered invaluable advice and support at every stage of the project; they are always ready to advise and help and offered useful comments on the final draft of the book. I am indebted to their dedi- cation and kindness. Delia Davin and Janet Ford as my thesis examiners made insightful comments in helping me to shape the book. In particular, I am grateful to Delia’s continuous and generous help since the examination. During my stay at Sussex University where I held a postdoctoral fellowship, John Holmwood and Barbara Einhorn provided valuable guidance and warm support. My fond memories of York and Sussex will always be associ- ated with the following friends: John Weatherburn, Susie Scott, Gwyn Williams, Robert A. Brose, Bi Lijun, Duncan J. Poupard, Susan Jolly and all my friends at the Centre for Women’s Studies and Goodricke College at York. Their friendship has helped me to pull through many difficult moments and has given me lasting support. I am also grateful for the support from all of my colleagues at University of Glasgow. I would like to thank all the women who participated in my research for their generosity in spending time with me and telling me interesting stories of their lives. Their kindness in co-operation provided me with a fantastic opportunity to understand the lives of women over time in socialist China and to explore the gendered picture of Chinese society. I am grateful to Dai Wuchun, Zhao Jianhong, Zhou Sixiang, Cai Weixing who actively intro- duced interviewees and helped me to gain access to university libraries. Many thanks to Günseli Berik, Gale Summerfield and Xiao-yuan Dong and all the participants in the ‘Gender, China, WTO’ workshop organized by Feminist Economics Editorial Office at the University of Rice, Houston for their helpful comments in furthering my discussions of gendered conse- quence of market transformations. I would like to thank Diana Woodward and Sarah Ashwin for their help. I would also like to thank Stephanie Rogers and Helen Baker of Routledge for their support and assistance and three anonymous reviewers for their comments and criticisms. xiv Acknowledgements I am very grateful for financial support from the Universities UK, the University of York, Goodricke College and the British Federation of Women Graduates’ Charitable Foundation which provided me with assistance towards the cost of my studies and maintenance in the UK; the Great Britain–China Educational Trust which funded my fieldwork expenses; the Feminist Review Trust, British Sociological Association and the Employ- ment Research Unit, Cardiff Business School for several conference grants which enabled me to present papers and exchange ideas at UK national and international conferences; the fellowship offered by the School of Social Sciences and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex which enabled me to complete the book manuscript. Finally, I would like to thank my family who give me so much support in my life, my dearest maternal grandmother who has looked after me since I was born, my late maternal grandfather who began to create an educational environment from my childhood, my parents who were always supportive. In particular, during the fieldwork, they eagerly introduced friends and acquaintances and my mother did all the ‘utility work’ whilst I was in the field. Earlier versions of some parts of Chapter 2 appeared in ‘Researching Chinese Women’s Lives: “Insider” Research and Life History Interviewing’, Oral History, 34(1) 2006, pp.

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