More than double jeopardy: An intersectional analysis of persistent income disadvantages of Chinese female migrant workers

Researchers have attributed the low wages of Chinese female migrant workers to the independent effects of gender and hukou (household registration). Using an intersectional perspective that recognizes the interplay of gender, birthplace, and hukou, this paper identifies six different groups of workers in China’s urban labor market. Both in-depth interviews and survey data demonstrate that from 2003 to 2013, a decade seen as one of China’s continuous economic growth and rising income inequality, female migrant workers earned the lowest wages among the six groups, and their income disadvantages were more than double the disadvantages of gender and hukou combined. This trend was persistent during this decade even after the workers’ education, party membership, and labor market segregation were taken into account. These results imply a within-job wage differential for female migrant workers and a discriminatory wage policy that is tacitly observed by both state and private employers.