Left-behind women: gender exclusion and inequality in rural-urban migration in China<sup>†</sup>

Ye, Jingzhong; Wu, Huiding; Rao, J. N.; B, Ding; Zhang, Keyun

doi:10.1080/03066150.2016.1157584

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Still, the migration of just men can result in women carrying the added burden of production and reproduction responsibilities. Village level case studies reveal that the absence of men meant women had to take over tasks traditionally performed by men in agriculture (Jetley 1987;Paris et al 2005;Gartuala, Niehof, and Visser 2010;Maharjan, Bauer, and Knerr 2012;Ye et al 2016). Women's increased involvement in productive functions, however, does not usually relieve them of responsibilities of housework and child care.…”

Section: Linking Male Migration Left-behind Women and Household Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered livelihoods: migrating men, left-behind women and household food security in India

Choithani

2019

Gender, Place & Culture

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This paper assesses the food security implications of the out-migration of men for rural households headed by women. Recent transformations in the socioeconomic landscape of the Global South involve an increasing number of rural households shifting towards urban-nonfarm, migrationbased livelihoods. In many rural societies, social and cultural norms restricting women's mobility means migration is usually undertaken by men, leading to a phenomenon of leftbehind women. The absence of men requires women to assume the role of household heads. This often triggers fundamental changes in intrahousehold gender power relations. However, little is known about the effects of these changes on household food security outcomes. Drawing on primary field research in western Bihar in India, this article attempts to highlight interconnections between migration, women left behind and household food security and, in doing so, makes two key contributions. First, with a focus on gender social roles, the paper shows that the two oftcited impacts of migration of men-'improved autonomy' and 'increased responsibility' for left-behind women-provide conceptual pathways to understand migration-genderfood security linkages. Second, it provides evidence on how changes in women's roles under conditions of such migration intersect with household food security. The findings indicate a gender-based disadvantage in food security outcomes faced by household headed by women, offsetting even the potentially positive influence of improved female autonomy. The paper argues for the need to address socioeconomic mechanisms underpinning gender-based vulnerabilities to food security.

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Section: Linking Male Migration Left-behind Women and Household Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered livelihoods: migrating men, left-behind women and household food security in India

Choithani

2019

Gender, Place & Culture

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“…Rapid economic development and urbanization in China has resulted in approximately 300 million people -mainly men -migrating from rural to urban areas (National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China 2015), leaving behind as many as 50 million women, as well as elderly parents and children (Wu and Ye, 2016). Many of these 'left behind' women have had to take over the family farm, in addition to their traditional roles of caring for their parents and children (Ye, et al, 2013(Ye, et al, , 2016Jacka, 2014;Lee, 2014;Wu and Ye, 2016). However, few of them have yet managed to take over 'male' roles outside the home, particularly with respect to joining village committees and participating in the governance and management of the village's natural resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governance, Gender and the Appropriation of Natural Resources: A Case Study of ‘Left-Behind’ Women’s Collective Action in China

Ravenscroft

Wang

Liu

2019

Society & Natural Resources

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China's rapid urbanization has created opportunities for many peoplepredominantly men -to migrate from rural to urban areas in search of work, leaving their farms and families. This has resulted in many villages being dominated by a large population of 'left-behind' women. This situation has required these women not only to take responsibility for their own domestic and farming duties, but also increasingly to get involved in local governance, particularly in trying to prevent the appropriation of collective natural resources. Based on a case study in a typical village in central China, this paper explores an example of women's collective action to prevent the over-exploitation of collectively owned sand resources. As the case study illustrates, although previously denied the opportunity to participate in local politics and governance, the 'left behind' women have seized the initiative and have demonstrated the capacity to impose their will, through a mix of toughness, flexibility and endurance. As a consequence, the study demonstrates that, when empowered to act, the left-behind women are as capable as anyone of defending their community's resources. This new approach to collective action over natural resource management therefore suggests that rural-urban migration has not been a wholly negative phenomenon for those left behind. On the contrary, it has created a space in which those who were previously denied access to local politics can assert not only their right to govern, but also their aptitude for the types of action that are required to defend collectively-owned resources.

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“…The development of labor ability via skill training is an important way for farmers to accumulate human capital. However, owing to the migration of rural male labor, the rural permanent population is mainly composed of those who are middle-aged, elderly, and women [61,62]. Although some areas provide employment training and employment recommendation opportunities, they are often unsuitable for the farmers' conditions and demands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response Mechanism of Farmers’ Livelihood Capital to the Compensation for Rural Homestead Withdrawal—Empirical Evidence from Xuzhou City, China

Yin

2022

Land

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The Chinese government has implemented a homestead withdrawal policy to improve the efficiency of rural construction land use. The compensation for rural homestead withdrawal (CRHW) is crucial to the reconstruction and sustainable development of farmers’ livelihoods. This paper analyzed the response mechanisms of farmers’ livelihoods to the CRHW with the combined application of the logistic regression, the mediation effect model, and the moderating effect model. The results indicated that CRHW had a significant positive impact on the sustainable livelihoods of rural households, mainly by improving the physical capital and social capital. In addition, adaptability and livelihood diversity played intermediary and regulatory roles in the positive impacts of the CRHW on sustainable livelihoods, respectively. The conclusions may provide insight into the demand for more reasonable compensation policies to ensure the sustainability of farmers’ livelihoods.

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Left-behind women: gender exclusion and inequality in rural-urban migration in China^†

Cited by 31 publications

References 10 publications

Gendered livelihoods: migrating men, left-behind women and household food security in India

Gendered livelihoods: migrating men, left-behind women and household food security in India

Governance, Gender and the Appropriation of Natural Resources: A Case Study of ‘Left-Behind’ Women’s Collective Action in China

Response Mechanism of Farmers’ Livelihood Capital to the Compensation for Rural Homestead Withdrawal—Empirical Evidence from Xuzhou City, China

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Left-behind women: gender exclusion and inequality in rural-urban migration in China†

Cited by 31 publications

References 10 publications

Gendered livelihoods: migrating men, left-behind women and household food security in India

Gendered livelihoods: migrating men, left-behind women and household food security in India

Governance, Gender and the Appropriation of Natural Resources: A Case Study of ‘Left-Behind’ Women’s Collective Action in China

Response Mechanism of Farmers’ Livelihood Capital to the Compensation for Rural Homestead Withdrawal—Empirical Evidence from Xuzhou City, China

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Left-behind women: gender exclusion and inequality in rural-urban migration in China^†