Migrant Women Workers in China

China attracts many foreign firms to open up factories along their coasts because of their lax worker protection laws and their abundant source of cheap labor. But who are these people who toil for twelve hours a day to make our toys, garments, or other cheap plastic materials? Economic opportunities have long drawn poor peasants from the countryside to take up factory jobs because these peasants can earn dramatically more than they could by staying in the village. Women especially have become the majority of migrant workers because of the factories preference for women workers. Migrant women also want to contribute economically to the household, but often lack the education or experience to find a better job. According to the Chinese census in 2000, 60% of the ten million migrant workers in the industrial stronghold of Guangdong were women. But because of institutional and societal values, these women are often exploited and put in great danger just to create cheap products for export. In order for policy makers and NGOs to develop policies and programs that can help these women, it is important to see how all these institutions and cultural mindsets are intertwined to create these situations