Labor Market Reentry Among White-Collar Female Ex-Prisoners in China: A Feminist Desistance Perspective

Abstract

This study, part of a collaborative project with the women’s prison in City A, China, aims to understand the experience of regaining employment among 21 white-collar ex-prisoners. Findings include shame and internalized stigmatization, labor market marginalization, and the political background check as a central part of the Chinese motherhood penalty. This paper demonstrates how the consequences of the women’s conviction and incarceration interact with individual, familial, and structural factors, leading some to return to domestic gender roles and pushing most into a state of precariousness. The study aims to contribute to the emerging field of feminist desistance research.