ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on to the status of women in China and focuses on the changes in the status of rural women during the communist era in general, with special attention to the economic transition of 1979. It aims to fertility policies, which have very important implications for women's health and also focuses on reproductive health. Relatively few women entered rural industry, where they encounter the glass ceiling. They tend to concentrate in the low prestige positions of ordinary workers and are under-represented in the more rewarding positions of administration and management, as is frequently the case with women in industrial societies. The mortality gains of adult women and the unique pattern of gender health equality in rural China clearly reflects women's access to general coping resources. Upon establishment, most leaders of the Chinese Communist Party believed that a large population was necessary to augment China's strength, boost economic growth, and ensure its defensive power.
