ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines China's changing demographic, social and economic context and discusses women and work in China, and the provision of childcare and eldercare. It identifies particular pressure points around women, work and care in China. A related feature of China's population profile is small family size, a consequence of the one-child policy introduced in 1979. The rural–urban divide shapes housing, education and social security policy and fundamentally structures patterns of employment across China. The enormous changes in China's political economy have largely undone the system of work and care constructed during the Maoist era and the position of women has been heavily influenced by government policies and economic cycles. In China it is commonly assumed by both sexes that housework is primarily women's responsibility. At first sight, women who work as entrepreneurs and professionals appear to have benefited from the opening up of the Chinese economy.
