Table of Contents 1 Introduction 1338 2 Background 1339 2.1 Theoretical framework 1339 2.2 Urban context in China and family norms 1340 2.3 The current study 1342 3 Data,sample,and measurement 1343 3.1 Data 1343 3.2 Sample 1343 3.3 Measurement 1344 4 Methods 1345 4.1 Marriage rate 1345 4.2 Log-linear models 1345 5 Results 1347 5.1 Marriage rates 1347 5.2 Assortative marriage patterns 1350 5.2.1 Descriptive analysis 1350 5.2.2 Log-linear models 1351 6 Discussion 1355 7 Acknowledgements 1357 References 1358
Table of Contents 1 Introduction 1338 2 Background 1339 2.1 Theoretical framework 1339 2.2 Urban context in China and family norms 1340 2.3 The current study 1342 3 Data, sample, and measurement 1343 3.1 Data 1343 3.2 Sample 1343 3.3 Measurement 1344 4 Methods 1345 4.1 Marriage rate 1345 4.2 Log-linear models 1345 5 Results 1347 5.1 Marriage rates 1347 5.2 Assortative marriage patterns 1350 5.2.1 Descriptive analysis 1350 5.2.2 Log-linear models 1351 6 Discussion 1355 7 Acknowledgements 1357 References 1358
Demographic Research:Volume 31,Article 45 Research Article The gender divide in urban China: Singlehood and assortative mating by age and education Yue Qian! Zhenchao Qian2 Abstract OBJECTIVE Chinese media labels highly educated,urban women who are still single in their late 20s as"leftover ladies."We investigate whether indeed highly educated women are less likely to marry than their less-educated counterparts,and how assortative mating patterns by age and education play a role in singleness. METHODS We use data from the urban samples of the Chinese General Social Surveys in the 2000s.In the analysis we calculate marriage rates to examine the likelihood of entry into marriage,and then apply log-linear models to investigate the assortative mating patterns by age and education. RESULTS We find that as education increases,the likelihood of marriage increases among men but decreases among women,especially among those over age 30.The results from log- linear models reveal that more marriages involve better-educated,older men and less- educated,younger women. CONCLUSIONS We argue that persistent traditional gender roles,accompanied by the rapid rise in women's education,contribute to low marriage rates among older,highly educated women. Department of Sociology,The Ohio State University,238 Townshend Hall,1885 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus,OH 43210,U.S.A.E-Mail:qian.85@buckeyemail.osu.edu. Department of Sociology,The Ohio State University,U.S.A. http://www.demographic-research.org 1337
Demographic Research: Volume 31, Article 45 Research Article http://www.demographic-research.org 1337 The gender divide in urban China: Singlehood and assortative mating by age and education Yue Qian1 Zhenchao Qian2 Abstract OBJECTIVE Chinese media labels highly educated, urban women who are still single in their late 20s as “leftover ladies.” We investigate whether indeed highly educated women are less likely to marry than their less-educated counterparts, and how assortative mating patterns by age and education play a role in singleness. METHODS We use data from the urban samples of the Chinese General Social Surveys in the 2000s. In the analysis we calculate marriage rates to examine the likelihood of entry into marriage, and then apply log-linear models to investigate the assortative mating patterns by age and education. RESULTS We find that as education increases, the likelihood of marriage increases among men but decreases among women, especially among those over age 30. The results from loglinear models reveal that more marriages involve better-educated, older men and lesseducated, younger women. CONCLUSIONS We argue that persistent traditional gender roles, accompanied by the rapid rise in women‟s education, contribute to low marriage rates among older, highly educated women. 1 Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, 238 Townshend Hall, 1885 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, OH 43210, U.S.A. E-Mail: qian.85@buckeyemail.osu.edu. 2 Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, U.S.A
Qian and Oian:The gender divide in urban China:Singlehood and assortative mating by age and education 1.Introduction In China,college education has expanded rapidly since 1999.Women have since then surpassed men in college enrollment and graduation (Yeung 2013).More young women with college education are seen to have challenged mate selection patterns in urban China.College-educated women who have not yet married by their late 20s are portrayed as having extreme difficulties finding a marital partner(e.g,Fincher 2012; Magistad 2013;Subramanian and Lee 2011).Chinese media uses a derogative term, "shengnu"("leftover ladies"),to describe these urban,highly educated,single women. While stigmatizing these single women,this term reveals public and family anxiety about their marriage prospects.There was a similar unease in the 1980s in the United States for college-educated white women who were single by age 30(Cherlin 1990). The unease was later found unwarranted because marriage rates in fact increased among college-educated women during that time,despite a decline in availability of marriageable partners (Qian and Preston 1993).This parallel raises the question of whether the concerns about marriage prospects of older,well-educated women in urban China are even valid. In this paper,we examine gender differentials in entry into marriage by age and educational attainment.We explore whether education and age pairings of spouses contribute to such gender differences.In the United States,advances in women's education do not diminish the likelihood of marriage because highly educated women increasingly marry similarly educated men,or men with less education than themselves (Schwartz and Mare 2005).In other words,changes in educational assortative mating in American society respond to structural changes in men's and women's educational attainment.The question is whether mate selection patterns in China would maintain the traditional practice of hypergamy,i.e.,men marry women younger and less educated than they are,or follow the U.S.pattern in response to rapid improvement in education,especially among women.The patterns of marriage formation and assortative mating in China shed light on whether traditional gender roles continue to constrain individual choice,even when society is experiencing rapid social and economic transformations. Using nationally representative data from the Chinese General Social Surveys in the 2000s,we extend the previous studies by providing an update on recent trends in age and educational assortative mating in urban China(Han 2010;Smits and Park 2009; Raymo and Xie 2000;Song 2009;Xu,Ji,and Tung 2000).We pay particular attention to gender differences in light of changes related to the reversal of college gender gap (Yeung 2013)and greater endorsement of traditional gender roles (Attane 2012). Specifically,drawing on the framework that emphasizes both individual choice and structural constraints (England and Farkas 1986),we examine how men and women 1338 http://www.demographic-research.org
Qian and Qian: The gender divide in urban China: Singlehood and assortative mating by age and education 1338 http://www.demographic-research.org 1. Introduction In China, college education has expanded rapidly since 1999. Women have since then surpassed men in college enrollment and graduation (Yeung 2013). More young women with college education are seen to have challenged mate selection patterns in urban China. College-educated women who have not yet married by their late 20s are portrayed as having extreme difficulties finding a marital partner (e.g., Fincher 2012; Magistad 2013; Subramanian and Lee 2011). Chinese media uses a derogative term, “shengnü” (“leftover ladies”), to describe these urban, highly educated, single women. While stigmatizing these single women, this term reveals public and family anxiety about their marriage prospects. There was a similar unease in the 1980s in the United States for college-educated white women who were single by age 30 (Cherlin 1990). The unease was later found unwarranted because marriage rates in fact increased among college-educated women during that time, despite a decline in availability of marriageable partners (Qian and Preston 1993). This parallel raises the question of whether the concerns about marriage prospects of older, well-educated women in urban China are even valid. In this paper, we examine gender differentials in entry into marriage by age and educational attainment. We explore whether education and age pairings of spouses contribute to such gender differences. In the United States, advances in women‟s education do not diminish the likelihood of marriage because highly educated women increasingly marry similarly educated men, or men with less education than themselves (Schwartz and Mare 2005). In other words, changes in educational assortative mating in American society respond to structural changes in men‟s and women‟s educational attainment. The question is whether mate selection patterns in China would maintain the traditional practice of hypergamy, i.e., men marry women younger and less educated than they are, or follow the U.S. pattern in response to rapid improvement in education, especially among women. The patterns of marriage formation and assortative mating in China shed light on whether traditional gender roles continue to constrain individual choice, even when society is experiencing rapid social and economic transformations. Using nationally representative data from the Chinese General Social Surveys in the 2000s, we extend the previous studies by providing an update on recent trends in age and educational assortative mating in urban China (Han 2010; Smits and Park 2009; Raymo and Xie 2000; Song 2009; Xu, Ji, and Tung 2000). We pay particular attention to gender differences in light of changes related to the reversal of college gender gap (Yeung 2013) and greater endorsement of traditional gender roles (Attané 2012). Specifically, drawing on the framework that emphasizes both individual choice and structural constraints (England and Farkas 1986), we examine how men and women
Demographic Research:Volume 31,Article 45 vary in marriage formation by age and education and in patterns of age and educational assortative marriage in urban China. 2.Background 2.1 Theoretical framework England and Farkas (1986)develop a framework stressing both individual choice and structural constraints to explain the relationships of household,employment,and gender in the United States.We apply this framework to help understand gendered patterns of marriage in contemporary urban China. Individual choice is based on Becker's (1981)classic economic theory of marriage:In marriage markets,an individual makes rational choice and marries only if the utility from marriage exceeds the utility from remaining single.Becker posits that the gains to marriage can be greater when women exchange their non-market traits with men's earning power,because men tend to have a comparative advantage in labor markets and women often have a comparative advantage in domestic work.This argument supports the sex-role specialization in marriage,with the husband taking on the breadwinner role and the wife specializing in housework and childcare.However, increases in economic independence of women make sex-role specialization within marriage less advantageous (Becker 1981).Compared with less-educated women, highly educated women possess more market-oriented human capital and have higher earning potential.Consequently,they may find marriage less beneficial and thus forgo marriage.Empirical evidence for this argument is weak in the United States (Sweeney 2002),but strong in societies where segregated gender roles make it difficult for women to balance work and family (Raymo 2003). Relatedly,individual choice is structurally constrained in societies where gender roles are such that wives focus on being a competent homemaker,and husbands bear the breadwinner role.In these societies,men do not value financial prospects in a potential spouse,and tend to look for younger women,who can bear and raise children while fulfilling the homemaker role.In contrast,women have strong incentives to marry men who are financially stable,typically older and highly educated (Raymo and Iwasawa 2005).Thus,marriage is formed between an older,better-educated man and a younger,less-educated woman. Granted,women's improvement in education increases the likelihood of educational homogamy because of the opportunities for men and women to meet in college and marry soon after college.Yet for college-educated men and women,longer time after school and more investment in careers may suggest that these individuals did http://www.demographic-research.org 1339
Demographic Research: Volume 31, Article 45 http://www.demographic-research.org 1339 vary in marriage formation by age and education and in patterns of age and educational assortative marriage in urban China. 2. Background 2.1 Theoretical framework England and Farkas (1986) develop a framework stressing both individual choice and structural constraints to explain the relationships of household, employment, and gender in the United States. We apply this framework to help understand gendered patterns of marriage in contemporary urban China. Individual choice is based on Becker‟s (1981) classic economic theory of marriage: In marriage markets, an individual makes rational choice and marries only if the utility from marriage exceeds the utility from remaining single. Becker posits that the gains to marriage can be greater when women exchange their non-market traits with men‟s earning power, because men tend to have a comparative advantage in labor markets and women often have a comparative advantage in domestic work. This argument supports the sex-role specialization in marriage, with the husband taking on the breadwinner role and the wife specializing in housework and childcare. However, increases in economic independence of women make sex-role specialization within marriage less advantageous (Becker 1981). Compared with less-educated women, highly educated women possess more market-oriented human capital and have higher earning potential. Consequently, they may find marriage less beneficial and thus forgo marriage. Empirical evidence for this argument is weak in the United States (Sweeney 2002), but strong in societies where segregated gender roles make it difficult for women to balance work and family (Raymo 2003). Relatedly, individual choice is structurally constrained in societies where gender roles are such that wives focus on being a competent homemaker, and husbands bear the breadwinner role. In these societies, men do not value financial prospects in a potential spouse, and tend to look for younger women, who can bear and raise children while fulfilling the homemaker role. In contrast, women have strong incentives to marry men who are financially stable, typically older and highly educated (Raymo and Iwasawa 2005). Thus, marriage is formed between an older, better-educated man and a younger, less-educated woman. Granted, women‟s improvement in education increases the likelihood of educational homogamy because of the opportunities for men and women to meet in college and marry soon after college. Yet for college-educated men and women, longer time after school and more investment in careers may suggest that these individuals did
Qian and Oian:The gender divide in urban China:Singlehood and assortative mating by age and education not or no longer have a relationship established while in college.The longer the departure from school,the less likely it is that they would meet people with same levels of educational attainment (Mare 1991).Indeed,research on assortative mating in the United States shows that those married in age 30s tend to have lower educational homogamy than those married in age 20s (Qian 1998).More notably,men in age 30s are more likely than their female counterparts to marry someone who is less educated and younger.The "gendered double standard of aging"contributes to the deteriorating position of older women in marriage markets because a premium on youthful beauty devalues women more than men as they age(England and Farkas 1986;England and McClintock 2009).In sum,in societies with highly segregated gender roles, convergence in men's and women's educational attainment contributes to shrinking availabilities of potential partners and lower marriage prospects among older,highly educated women(Raymo and Iwasawa 2005) 2.2 Urban context in China and family norms Under the conceptual framework employed in the current study,individual choice is constrained by structural factors.Indeed,China's contextual factors play an important role in shaping individual marriage behavior.The first factor is the gender system (England and Farkas 1986;Oppenheimer 1988).Empirically,the effect of education on marriage depends on gender role differentiation:in societies with greater gender- asymmetric division of labor within households,such as Italy and East and Southeast Asia,women's educational level is found to be negatively associated with entry into marriage(Jones and Gubhaju 2009;Pinnelli and De Rose 1995;Raymo 2003),while in societies with more gender-egalitarian division of labor within households,such as the United States,Sweden,and West Germany,women's education is insignificantly or positively related to marriage (Blossfeld and Rohwer 1995;Goldstein and Kenney 2001;Hoem 1995:Sweeney 2002). China provides a unique context of gender relations.Like most former socialist states,the Chinese government was active in promoting gender equality as a policy goal,with women's participation in paid employment considered as key to women's liberation and China's economic development (Zhou 2003).Although equality with men was never attained even during the collectivist period,female employment rate was among the highest in the world (Attane 2012;Parish and Busse 2000).However, the rapid transition from a planned to a market economy has eroded the power of the state in sustaining gender equality (Bian 2002;Tang and Parish 2000).During the economic reform,women's position in the labor market,relative to men's,has deteriorated significantly in urban China (Attane 2012).As a result of growing labor 1340 http://www.demographic-research.org
Qian and Qian: The gender divide in urban China: Singlehood and assortative mating by age and education 1340 http://www.demographic-research.org not or no longer have a relationship established while in college. The longer the departure from school, the less likely it is that they would meet people with same levels of educational attainment (Mare 1991). Indeed, research on assortative mating in the United States shows that those married in age 30s tend to have lower educational homogamy than those married in age 20s (Qian 1998). More notably, men in age 30s are more likely than their female counterparts to marry someone who is less educated and younger. The “gendered double standard of aging” contributes to the deteriorating position of older women in marriage markets because a premium on youthful beauty devalues women more than men as they age (England and Farkas 1986; England and McClintock 2009). In sum, in societies with highly segregated gender roles, convergence in men‟s and women‟s educational attainment contributes to shrinking availabilities of potential partners and lower marriage prospects among older, highly educated women (Raymo and Iwasawa 2005). 2.2 Urban context in China and family norms Under the conceptual framework employed in the current study, individual choice is constrained by structural factors. Indeed, China‟s contextual factors play an important role in shaping individual marriage behavior. The first factor is the gender system (England and Farkas 1986; Oppenheimer 1988). Empirically, the effect of education on marriage depends on gender role differentiation: in societies with greater genderasymmetric division of labor within households, such as Italy and East and Southeast Asia, women‟s educational level is found to be negatively associated with entry into marriage (Jones and Gubhaju 2009; Pinnelli and De Rose 1995; Raymo 2003), while in societies with more gender-egalitarian division of labor within households, such as the United States, Sweden, and West Germany, women‟s education is insignificantly or positively related to marriage (Blossfeld and Rohwer 1995; Goldstein and Kenney 2001; Hoem 1995; Sweeney 2002). China provides a unique context of gender relations. Like most former socialist states, the Chinese government was active in promoting gender equality as a policy goal, with women‟s participation in paid employment considered as key to women‟s liberation and China‟s economic development (Zhou 2003). Although equality with men was never attained even during the collectivist period, female employment rate was among the highest in the world (Attané 2012; Parish and Busse 2000). However, the rapid transition from a planned to a market economy has eroded the power of the state in sustaining gender equality (Bian 2002; Tang and Parish 2000). During the economic reform, women‟s position in the labor market, relative to men‟s, has deteriorated significantly in urban China (Attané 2012). As a result of growing labor