Women of China: Economic and Social Transformation (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Women of China: Economic and Social Transformation Sarah L. Anderson (bio) Jackie West, Zhao Minghua, Chang Xiangqun, and Cheng Yuan, editors. Women of China: Economic and Social Transformation. Foreword by Elisabeth Croll. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. xxi, 238 pp. Hardcover $65.00, ISBN 0-312-22441-9. Women of China: Economic and Social Transformation is a collection of ten studies that explore the impact of state reform on the lives of women. The book begins with a concise foreword by Elisabeth Croll, in which she states: "In a range of interpretations, including some powerful and eloquent critiques, the chapters focus on the changing role of the state and the economy in reform and the repercussions on women's lives and work, both positive and negative" (p. xii). Croll also provides the reader with a summary of the chapters that follow. Editors Jackie West, Zhao Minghua, Chang Xiangqun, and Cheng Yuan use the impact of state reform on the lives of women as the starting point for a rich discussion of how social and economic reforms affect the lives of women. The studies presented are both quantitative and qualitative in nature, challenging "the generally stereotypical and often benign view of reform held in the West" (p. 4) and "documenting the differences between women and men but also differences among women themselves" (p. 15). These studies dispute common preconceptions about the relationship between reform and its effects, and the reader is thus challenged to comprehend the breadth and depth of that relationship. As stated by Jackie West and Zhao Minghua in the introduction, this book has two themes: "women's relation to politics and the development of feminist perspectives" (p. 14). One of the challenges of editing a collection like this is to ensure that each contribution will relate to the broader themes of the book as a whole. The editors have met this challenge admirably. Each essay, in addition to examining its own subject in detail, contributes to the broader exploration of women's relation to politics and to the development of feminist perspectives. The book is organized into four parts. In part 1, "Political and Economic Transitions," Wang Qi and Zhang Heather Xiaoquan discuss the relationship of women to political and economic reforms. In part 2, "Gender, Migration and Labour Markets," Song Lina, Huang Xiyi, and Zhao Minghua explore the role of women as workers and the relationship between female labor and state reform. Mu Aiping, Chang Xiangqun, and Zhang Mei discuss the position of women within the family in a diverse collection of essays in part 3, "Family and Household Relations." In part 4, "Organising for Change," Shang Xiaoyuan and Min Dongchao study the role of women in the public sphere and the development of women's studies in the People's Republic of China. [End Page 266] The issue of women's representation in politics is tackled right off by Wang Qi in "State-Society Relations and Women's Political Participation," which focuses on "the wax and wane of women's representation in line with the fluctuations in state-society relations" (p. 20). Wang uses the term "women's representation" to mean "the presence of women in the party-state organs" (p. 21). This essay provides a concise history of the relationship between the state and society and how this relationship has affected women. The general trend that can be discerned from this brief account is that women's representation in politics was initiated under the auspices of the state, women cadres being recruited by the state through the All-China Women's Federation. With the advent of reform, women's political participation as cadres began to decline, as it was "no longer acceptable for family life to be sacrificed for a political career" (p. 32). Wang postulates that family care, seen as women's responsibility, regained importance in the reform era, and influenced the ability of women to participate in politics. While the numbers of women cadres were on the decline, nongovernmental women's studies programs were burgeoning. It is suggested that the two main ways women participate in politics—as a cadre in the All-China Women's Federation or as...