Women and Informal Work in China: Reflections on Two Poverty Alleviation Pilot Projects

This paper examines the different experiences of women in two poverty alleviation pilot projects in rural China. Differences exist due largely to unequal levels of institutional support by the agencies and local governments that design and implement antipoverty policies and projects. I suggest that institutional support is essential to women's participation in increasing the ability of the project organization to achieve collective benefits. One of these benefits is the recognition of women's contribution to community development, especially through their work in the informal sector that includes their home-based production for the market and domestic consumption.