Unequal Duties and Unequal Retirement: Decomposing the Women’s Labor Force Decline in Postreform China

Abstract

The gender gap in labor force participation (LFP) in China has grown over the last 30 years, despite sub stantial advances in women’s edu cation and economic devel­op­ment. Previous research has iden­ti­fied gen­der dis­crim­i­na­tion and work–fam­ily con­flicts as two key expla­na­tions for the gap, both of which have risen since the start of China’s economic reform in 1978. Using multiple waves of the national census and house­hold panel data from China, this research shows that one overlooked mech­a­nism widening the LFP gender gap lies in the institutional constraints that require women to retire earlier than men. This research also demonstrates how the impact of women’s early retire­ment on the LFP gen­der gap has been exac­er­bated by two soci­e­tal-level changes: (1) population aging, which increased the share of women who reached the retirement age; and (2) economic development, which increased the number of women enter­ing nonfarming occu­pa­tions and, hence, the gen­der-based retire­ment sys­tem. These find­ings sug­gest that with­out sig­nifi­­cant revi­sions to China’s retire­ment sys-tem, the LFP gen­der gap will con­tinue to expand as the pop­u­la­tion ages and eco­nomic development proceeds.