Women's Changing Roles in the Chinese Economy

Abstract

The economic conditions facing women in the Peoples' Republic of China have changed markedly in the years since the founding ofthe country in 1949. This paper provides asurvey ofwomen's conditions and finds that contradictions remain between the constitutional mandate of equality for women and the reality of unequal opportunities available to \Vernen. Although women's economic status has improved since 1949, future improvements will depend upon how well economic policies are able to deal with the structural inequalities that exist between rural and urban areas as well as the national perceptions of the nature of women's work. (130, J16, 0530)