Tiger Girls: Women And Enterprise In The People's Republic Of China (routledge Studies On China In Transition)

The existing scholarship on women in China suggests that gender inequality still exists against the background of the country’s reform and opening in recent years. However, the situation of women in enterprise ownership and leadership seems to indicate that despite such notions of disadvantage amongst women, some of them are playing a more active and significant role in China’s economic development. Based on a series of interviews with female enterprise owners, wives of enterprise owners and women managers conducted in diverse locations in three difference provinces of China, Tiger Girls examines the deeper realities of women entrepreneurs in China, and by extension the role of leading women in the workforce. By analyzing information on these women’s personal experiences, careers and families, this book investigates their status at work and at home, as well as their connections with local politics. The research results suggest that although traces of gender inequality can still be found in these women’s lives, they appear to be actively engaged in the business establishment and operation and gradually casting off the leash of domestic responsibilities. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese Studies, Chinese Business, Chinese Economics and Asian Studies. Minglu Chen is ARC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Government and International Relations at Sydney University, Australia. "The last three decades of the People's Republic of China has been characterized by decentralization, marketization and privatization. What might be expected from a developing country like China with a significant number of women in the labour force? Do the traditional values of male superiority still stay the same in the background of China's great social change? The notion of 'tiger girls' seems to reflect one of the alternative paths that is now becoming available to the modern Chinese woman. The social development and changes in recent China have provided women with access to education, employment, and independent income. Consequently, they are casting off obedient and subordinate roles and gaining more and more individual power and strength outside the home. Using empirical research findings from three localities in China, Tiger Girls examines the deeper realities of women entrepreneurs in China, and by extension the role of leading women in the workforce"-- Provided by publisher The last three decades in the People's Republic of China have been characterized by decentralization, marketization and privatization. What might be expected from a developing country like China with a significant number of women in the labour force? Do the traditional values of male superiority still stay the same in the background of China's great social change? The notion of 'tiger girls' seems to reflect one of the alternative paths that is now becoming available to the modern Chinese woman. The social development and changes in recent China have provided women with access to education, employment, and independent income. Consequently, they are casting off obedient and subordinate roles and gaining more and more individual power and strength outside the home. Using empirical research findings from three localities in China, "Tiger Girls" examines the deeper realities of women entrepreneurs in China, and by extension the role of leading women in the workforce Front Cover Tiger Girls Copyright Page Contents List of tables Abbreviations Map of People’s Republic of China Introduction: Tiger girls and private enterprises Part I: Jiaocheng County, Shanxi Province 1. Industrial heartland and women entrepreneurs 2. Women and economic leadership 3. Political connections and the importance of family Part II: Qiongshan District, Hainan Province 4. The paradoxes of paradise 5. Hainan men and ‘old father tea’ 6. The limited influence of the Party-state Part III: Mianyang City, Sichuan Province 7. Industry and wealth 8. The challenges of work and family 9. Women in politics Conclusion: Enterprise leadership, politics and the local List of interviews Notes Bibliography Index