Women’s Education, Career and Family in China in an Intergenerational Perspective

Reports of national governments and international agencies such as those under the umbrella of the United Nations typically present women’s status in statistics. This reveals a conception of women as a uniform group, characterized by their physical distinction from men. The complexities of women’s situations and how women arrive at such situations are conveniently ignored. Feminist studies of women and development challenge the anonymity imposed on women. Not only has development meant different things for men and women, its consequences vary as to women’s social class and/or geographical backgrounds (Boserup, 1970; Chinchilla, 1977; Smock, 1982; Rogers, 1980).