Gender Inequality in Education and Employment: China’s Urban Labor Markets in Transition, 1982-2005

This paper examines the trend in gender inequality in educational attainment and non-agricultural employment in urban China since the 1990s. Based on the analyses of the micro-sample data from the 1982, 1990 and 2000 population censuses and the 2005 mini-census, we found that: (1) the gender gap in education, though still existing, has been substantially reduced; (2) the increase in women’s education in China did not lead to higher rates of labor force participation. Instead, women’s employment rate drops over time; (3) despite the fact that education increases in the likelihood of employment, this effect has declined over time for both men and women; (4) While married men are more likely to hold employment, married women are less likely to do so. The evidence suggests a return to traditional gender roles that used to be shaped by the socialist ideology on gender equality.