Social exclusion during China's social transformation period

Author: Shi Tong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: This study systematically reviews and attempts to apply the theory of social exclusion, focusing on vulnerable groups undergoing significant changes in social structures and benefit arrangements—specifically, laid-off female workers from state-owned enterprises—as the research subjects. It proposes the concept of gender exclusion, defining it as the mechanism and process by which women in vulnerable groups are marginalized in China's social transformation due to factors such as the social security system, labor market, and social networks. Building on this, the study constructs a theoretical analytical framework to provide a fresh description and explanation of the systematic and processual nature of social exclusion that turns laid-off female workers from state-owned enterprises into vulnerable groups, as well as the consequences of gender exclusion, including the reduction of material capital, symbolic capital, and social capital, and the characteristics of social exclusion. The aim is to conduct institutionalized, structural, and processual analysis of gender exclusion, presenting the social reality that laid-off female workers from state-owned enterprises are currently experiencing social exclusion. This research stems from a concern for social safety. The study asserts that social policies play a significant role in eliminating social exclusion, with microfinance and community exclusion being policy approaches to address social exclusion against laid-off female workers from state-owned enterprises.