Decisions to leave home: An examination of rural married women's labour migration in contemporary China

SynopsisDrawing upon feminist perspectives, this study examines causes of rural married women's migration in contemporary China. Based on interview data with 30 married women, the study found women's motivations of migration are not only to fulfil their household goals, such as house construction and children's education, but also to seek an independent and more valuable life for themselves. In their decision-making, they actively negotiate with their family members, and use their gendered social networks to facilitate their migration. Their migration, on the one hand, shows women's agency aiming to change their life; on the other hand, it indicates structural changes of contemporary Chinese society along gender, class, and rural/urban relations.

► I examine causes of rural married women's migration in contemporary China.
► I use observation and interviews for data collection.
► Household goals and individual goals are similarly important.
► The interaction of agency and structural forces shapes women's migration.