Full Description
This book explores gender discrimination and women's movements in China - from the May Fourth movement to present day. It critically examines the dynamics of the personal and political, or 'home' and 'work', and the role this discourse plays in women's lives.
The book looks at women's 'work' within the contested field of a gender power struggle both in the politics and society in China. Patterns of employment for women have evolved over the years and women have continued to face new challenges at home and outside as the boundaries between the political and personal blurs. This book analyses the birth of feminism in China, its amalgamation with Marxism to take the form of the women's liberation movement propagated by the party and state and its impact on shaping contemporary Chinese women. It also discusses the theoretical and practical trajectory of women's liberation movement and the changing ideas on women and gender in contemporary China.
The book will be of interest to students and researchers of gender studies, political sociology, Chinese studies, sociology of work and industry, history of women's work in China, labour history, gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace in China.
Contents
List of Figures. List of Tables. Foreword. Preface. Introduction: Towards an Understanding on the Origin of Gender Discrimination 1. Gender Equality or Gender Sameness: Women at Work in Communist China (1949-1978) 2. Patterns of Gender Discrimination at Work in Reform Period China (1980-1990 and 1990-2000) 3. Patterns of Gender Discrimination at Work in Post-Reform Period China (2000-2010 and 2010-2024) 4. Women's 'Work' in Contemporary China: Personal or Political? 5. Paradox of Equality and Difference: Contemporary Discourse on Gender in China 6. Towards Conclusion. Afterword. Index.
