Gender and Job Mobility in Postsocialist China: A Longitudinal Study of Job Changes in Six Coastal Cities

This study examines the gender differences in job mobility in urban China. Conceptualizing China's postsocialist transition as a multi-faceted process, we argue that the emergence of labor markets, gendered role differentiation within the family, and the state's declining involvement in promoting women's rights lead to widened gender gaps in job mobility. Event history analysis of data from six coastal cities finds that married women are less likely than their male counterparts to change jobs for career advancements, but are more likely to experience family-oriented job changes and involuntary terminations. The gender gaps in career-oriented job changes and involuntary terminations have also widened considerably during the reform period. We interpret these findings as the joint results of economic, socio-cultural and political processes.