Locating Foot-Binding: its Prolonged Exit from Chinese Women's Working Lives in The Twentieth Century

This article highlights the prolonged exit of foot-binding from Chinese women's working lives: it still significantly restricted women's participation in agricultural production as late as 1982. Based on this enduring effect, this study proposes a new proxy for the historical prevalence of practicing foot-binding in the early 1940s at the prefectural level, focusing on the female labor force participation rate (FLFPR) of the 45–49 age group as recorded in the 1982 census. By integrating the newly estimated historical geography of foot-binding with Buck's survey (1929–33) on rural women's paid work, this study suggests that a high prevalence of foot-binding could coexist with high FLFPRs in textile regions but was correlated with lower FLFPRs in agricultural areas, a shorter working year in dry farming areas, and a lower by-employment rate in textile regions.Highlights This study develops a census-based proxy for historical foot-binding in China.Foot-binding remained visible in women's labor outcomes long after the practice ended.Its irreversible effects restricted women's mobility and paid work.Labor demand shaped where foot-binding persisted across regions.Gender norms can generate long-term economic inequalities.