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Gendering the dormitory labor system: production, reproduction, and migrant labor in south China

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  • Pun Ngai

Abstract

This article discusses the dormitory labor system, a specific Chinese labor system through which the lives of Chinese women migrant workers are shaped by the international division of labor. This dormitory labor system is a gendered form of labor use that underlies the boom of export-oriented industrial production in China, which has been further boosted by China's accession to the World Trade Organization. Combining work and residence under the dormitory labor system, production and daily reproduction of labor are reconfigured for the sake of global production, with foreign-invested or privately owned companies controlling almost all daily reproduction of labor. Drawing upon the findings of a 2003 - 4 case study of an electronics factory in South China, this paper analyzes the operation of the dormitory labor system, detailing both its role in increasing output and profits and its role in supporting workers' resistance to their employers.

Suggested Citation

  • Pun Ngai, 2007. "Gendering the dormitory labor system: production, reproduction, and migrant labor in south China," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3-4), pages 239-258.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:13:y:2007:i:3-4:p:239-258
    DOI: 10.1080/13545700701439465
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Rickne, Johanna, 2010. "Gender, Wages, and Social Security in China’s Industrial Sector," Working Paper Series 827, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    2. Jasmine Gideon, 2016. "Migration and Health: Examining the Linkages through a Gender Lens," Working Papers id:8247, eSocialSciences.
    3. Tini Garske & Hongjie Yu & Zhibin Peng & Min Ye & Hang Zhou & Xiaowen Cheng & Jiabing Wu & Neil Ferguson, 2011. "Travel Patterns in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(2), pages 1-9, February.
    4. Mair, Simon & Druckman, Angela & Jackson, Tim, 2019. "Higher Wages for Sustainable Development? Employment and Carbon Effects of Paying a Living Wage in Global Apparel Supply Chains," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 11-23.
    5. Russell Smyth & Xiaolei Qian & Ingrid Nielsen & Ines Kaempfer, 2013. "Working Hours in Supply Chain Chinese and Thai Factories: Evidence from the Fair Labor Association's ‘Soccer Project’," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(2), pages 382-408, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; dormitory labor system; global production; migrant labor; women workers; JEL Codes: F16; F1; F;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade

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