Women Entrepreneurship in the Underdeveloped Counties of China:The Case of Alibaba’s Rural Revitalization Projects

• In Event: Economic Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Roundtable 2: Migration and Development

Abstract

Women labor and entrepreneurship are especially important for underdeveloped counties in China because many men are migrating and looking for better economic opportunities in big cities. How to mobilize the women labor in the countryside and pull the young women working outside back to do entrepreneurship activities in these counties become critical goals of Alibaba’s rural revitalization projects. This study finds the comparative advantages of women’s talents and skills in these projects: better hand skills in the rural crafts industry; better communication skills in the digital marketing activities; stronger social responsibility to create new jobs in the underdeveloped counties. Implications for entrepreneurship theory and policy are discussed.

Authors

• Xiaobin He, Tsinghua Univerisity

• Qingyi Zhao