ABSTRACT

In this chapter, I explore another stage in women’s lives – the period after they lost their jobs in the work unit. Previous research has documented the various ways in which becoming redundant has affected workers, such as economic plight and psychological depression (see Cai 2006, Xia 2001). The coverage of state-initiated support was very limited and with most redundant workers having to rely on assistance from other household members (Giles et al. 2006). In the search for new jobs, personal connections have been found to be the most important channel (Li et al. 2001, Zhao 2002). Overall, the shock of becoming unemployed has been particularly hard for older workers and women (Giles et al. 2006, Mok et al. 2002). Here I follow my interviewees’ life path. What was the life like outside the cocoon of the danwei? How did they cope with this transition in life? Were the existing gendered constraints on daily existence within the domestic domain weakened or intensified when the women ‘returned home’?