Informal employment and gender implications in China: the nature of work and employment relations in the community services sector

Abstract

In spite of the growing attention to and the rapid development of employment in the informal sector in general and in community services in particular in China, little is reported or understood in Western literature on the nature of this type of work and employment relations, its increasingly important role in the economy, and its implications for legal and social policies. This paper investigates, through the findings of empirical studies, the nature of work and employment conditions for those who work in the community services sector and the gender implications for those engaged in informal employment.

Keywords:

• Informal employment
• labour rights
• social security
• community services
• gender
• China