Page 55 - Chinese Woman Living and Working

42 CLODAGH WYLIE
managers attended the founding meeting, coming from such sectors as industry,
commerce, finance, agriculture, construction and tourism (Shanghai Evening Post website).
As with other Chinese women, women in the private sector are faced with the
conflicting demands of both family and work. Many find it difficult to balance the two.
The media’s persistent promotion of ‘ideal’ womanhood and the general perception of the
private sector as a particularly male space also confront these women. Operating in a
space perceived as masculine (Rofel 1999:96–103), women in the private sector pose a
challenge to the still firmly held belief in a clear distinction between feminine and
masculine in Chinese society. This is partly due to the fact that these women have assumed
positions of legitimacy in an environment that is widely constructed as male territory: not
suitable for women, who by their very nature, are seen to lack the necessary (male)
qualities to succeed. Male entrepreneurs or those involved in some form of market
activity, on the other hand, are seen as good husband material because of their access to
goods and ‘proven masculinity’ (Rofel 1999:233).
Ellen Judd (1990) found a negative perception of female managers during interviews in
three Shandong villages in the late 1980s. Women are also subject to discriminatory
practices in professional settings (Hilderbrandt and Liu 1988: 306, 309; Croll 1995:117–
24). Beverley Kitching (2001), who surveyed business women in Kunming in 1998, found
that women had less ‘access to capital and security of investment’ (2001:48). She
concludes that women’s interests have been sidelined in China’s reformed period and it is
more difficult for them to reach positions of seniority than men. She points to the case of
women choosing to own their own businesses rather than climb the corporate ladder of a
large enterprise (Kitching 2001:49). Nonetheless, the women she surveyed believed that
women had superior skills in establishing personal relationships (Kitching 2001:48). This
positive perception of the strengths of women is undermined by another common
perception: namely, that women lack access to the well-established male dominated
business networks (Korabik 1994: 121–2). Consequently, women may find themselves at
a severe disadvantage in business if they are unable to foster guanxi—relationships/
connections—in order to facilitate business success.
It is important to note briefly the historical context in which notions of femininity are
now being renegotiated. In revolutionary and socialist China, notions of women’s gender
identity were dramatically reshaped. Traditional female values were rejected and replaced
with Western notions of gender equality. However, following the upheavals of the
Cultural Revolution (1966–76) and a backlash against the ‘Iron woman’ images of that era
(Honig 2000), many women have since recounted feelings of loss in regard to their
feminine identities: see the personal histories of Jung Chang, (1991) and Anchee Min
(1994). These personal histories express a longing for the freedom to express one’s
femininity not only in dress, but also in terms of relationships with family and wider
society. Since 1978 women have increasingly expressed a need for recognition of
women’s different qualities and needs (Woo 1994:291–5; Croll 1995:153–5).
In the earlier reform period, women took part in the burgeoning private sector in great
numbers. These were generally women who started small street businesses to make ends
meet after being laid off. They were commended not as glamorous models of the private
sector, but rather as heroic examples of ingenuity and perseverance. However, when the