The Impact of Rural-urban Migration on Gender Relations in Chinese Households

Abstract

The large scale of migrant flows has affected China's development profoundly. Rural-urban migration, in particular, has been the main source of the China's economic miracle in recent years and is also rapidly reshaping the demographic and social landscapes of Chinese cities and countryside. How has migration impacted migrants themselves? This article attempts to examine the way in which migration challenges traditional attitudes to gender and patriarchy based on this empirical study of 89 rural-urban migrant households in Beijing. It concludes that the rural-urban movement has to some extent changed the pattern of the gender-based division of labor, the gendered decision-making process and perceived fairness and satisfaction regarding gender relations in these households. A comparison between three different types of migrant households reveals that the change in women's position in the labor force is the most important factor contributing to changes in domestic gender relations. However, due to the still gender-biased labor market regime and discriminatory policies towards migrants, the change has been limited. The findings have profound policy implications for improving the migrants' lives in cities.