Paper short abstract:

1. Women's domestic work becoming more socialized due to rural tourism industry. 2. Men sustain social networks in rural tourism and women endure more specific work which reinforce traditional roles. 3. China's current rural restructuring hasn't markedly advanced gender equality.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the changes in gender equality brought about by rural development in China, represented by rural tourism. The main shift relates to the socialization of women's domestic work and, to a lesser extent, women's participation in rural development policies and practices, a trend linked to declining farm incomes and industrial subsidies.

Theoretically, both economic upgrading and rural development have the potential to promote gender equality. Rural tourism enhances rural women's economic empowerment and promotes their aspirations for more equitable participation in household decision-making. Rural development initiatives are seen as introducing a new form of governance that is more inclusive, representative and transparent. These initiatives have created space for the inclusion of women in political structures.

However, this paper argues that the existence of household division of labor, ideological and cultural barriers have allowed agricultural and rural restructuring to unfold in a gendered manner, thus maintaining the status quo. Men are required to maintain the social network structures on which rural tourism is based, and women take on more sex-specific labor. This does not mean that gender or cultural ideologies are static, as illustrated by the ideological conflict between China's rural revitalization strategy and traditional cultural practices, and despite these challenges, China's current agricultural and rural restructuring has not significantly advanced gender equality.