Since 1978, reform policies introduced in rural China have had a profound impact on women's work and gender divisions of labor. This book provides detailed information on the shifts in women's work patterns that have occurred. It explains how and why these shifts have come about, and how they relate to other aspects of women's position in society. While other aspects of reform in rural China have been analyzed extensively, this is one of very few, and to date the most comprehensive, studies of the effects of reform on rural women.