The impact of guanxi networks on the employment relations of rural migrant women in contemporary China

Based on qualitative data collected from Beijing, Shantou and 30 villages in Hebei and Henan with rural women migrants, their family members and employers, this article examines how guanxi networks influence rural migrant women's employment relations, and how they are exploited by their employers through guanxi. Research on guanxi often demonstrates its positive side, whereas this article examines the other side of guanxi-the abuse of such connections in the process of employment relations.