Women and Development in China: An Analysis and Reappraisal of Practice

“Women and development,” which began in the mid-1970s with the efforts of feminist activists and the call for practice, has become a new discipline combining theory and practice. Dedicated to promoting women’s participation in development and improving women’s conditions and status, it is having a growing impact on international development. In China, with the rise of women’s studies and increases in the number of internationally supported projects, and in particular, with the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, women and development can now be considered very much in vogue. There are growing numbers of related seminars, training classes, symposiums and projects—a gratifying change. This article endeavors to analyze and reassess the practice of women and development in recent years in order to promote the indigenization of its theory and practice.