Gender and Political Participation in the Chinese Countryside

This study draws on a four-county probability survey of Chinese countryside residents in order to assess the participation levels of women and men in light of postliberation developments and the impact of reform in the post-Mao era Participation rates for men exceed those for women across a variety of modes, a gap that remains substantial when other relevant traits are held constant and one which resembles that found in more open societies. An especially helpful trait for women is that of having a second occupation. Gender inequalities take on a parabolic shape across age, a pattern partially accounted for by similar inequalities in education experienced by different birth cohorts. In accordance with explanations offered in other polities, the lower participation rates for Chinese women stem from cross-sex differences in contemporary life situations, institutional and structural mechanisms, and preadult socialization patterns.