A Research On The Occupation Situation Of Educated Women (1912-1937)

Chinese women's employment has begun along with the introduction of capitalist mode of production and the rising of women's education in the middle of 19th century. In the early stage of the Republic of China, many women can only do some manual jobs, and educated women's choice was limited in the fields of education, journalism and medical. After May 4th movement, women education system has been improved gradually and women enjoyed a much better education. The rising trend of thoughts of women's employment and the women's movement have directly promoted women's employment. Women's employment brought in new occupations for women. More and more educated women stepped into the outside world. At that time, working women can be seen in many places, such as schools, government departments, banks hospitals, shops and railways. Most women choose to work with a view to pursuing economic independence and realize their life value, and they can earn as much as the middle class did in cities. Compared with female workers, educated women, as a group equipped with new knowledge structure and new thoughts, showed different characteristics from traditional women in working, marriage, family and social life. They produced a profound influence on social life and promoted the development of women's liberation movement. However, due to some social and historical reasons, educated women faced a great limitation when choosing an occupation, their employment status still didn't satisfactory.