ABSTRACT
Responding to global economic restructuring, the international division of labor, and world economic integration, China began economic reforms in 1978 to move into a freer market economy. One of the major outcomes has been massive waves of workers hastening from rural to urban areas and from city to city in search of a better life. This internal migration has been propelled by the macro force of industrialization, which has created job opportunities and incentives motivating people to move from less-developed to more prosperous regions within China. In the past, migration tended to favor men, who left home to seek jobs elsewhere to support family at home. Despite the fact that the number of women migrants has been increasing not only in China but also worldwide, much more is known about factors infl uencing men’s migration than about those infl uencing women.2 To fi ll this literature gap, my study focuses primarily on women’s migration experience in China as compared to that of men.
