Employment, Marriage Choice and Female Power: Evidence from Chinese Migrant Workers

• In Event: 155 - Regular Session. Women's Work in a Globalizing World

Abstract

Increases in women’s employment and wage income are well documented in modernization and urbanization. Yet, it is unclear whether this paid work, in particular the migrant work, empowers women. We seek to inform the debate by asking what conditions might lead women to be able to translate wages into status in the family. We focus on the implications of work history and migrant experience on female autonomy. In particular, we investigate the mediating effect of the type and the timing of marriage for female power. To answer this question, we interviewed 43 female migrant workers in four neighborhoods in Beijing. We find that three types of marriage modes among our interviewees. Women who marry after migration are more likely to choose their own partners and to have more family decision power. Our results suggest that partner choice may work together with the employment experience to produce different outcomes for female power in the household. A key element of post-migration marriage may be that it allows women more say in their choice of partner.

Authors

• Ke Liang, City University of New York-Baruch College

• Danielle Kane, DePauw University

• Felicia Feng Tian, Duke University