A New Path of Women’s Organizing: An Analysis of Female Folk Custom Groups in the Yimeng Mountain Area of China

Abstract

Abstract Female organizational development is the foundation for enhancing women’s political and economic capabilities. This study focuses on the urgent need for women’s participation in China’s rural revitalization and emphasizes the crucial role of promoting the organizational development of rural women. Drawing upon the innovation theory in evolutionary economics, we conducted a field survey in the Yimeng Mountain area of Shandong Province, China, involving 900 rural women. The study explores a new path of women’s organizing, specifically the innovation and transformation of rural female folk custom groups into formal organizations. Empirical analysis reveals that Village Two Committees exert the most influential positive effect on the organizational innovation of female folk custom groups among organizational factors. Additionally, institutional factors such as rural revitalization and culture construction significantly contribute to this transformation. Moreover, individual factors such as relative income levels and the exemplary role of rural capable women also exhibit significant positive influence.