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With first-hand data collected from three areas in Shannxi province, the researcher studied rural women´s barriers to economic participation in farming and off-farm employment under the impact of Chinese government´s implementation of land transfer policy. It was found that rural women were facing different challenges, and there was a mismatch between the training local government offered and what rural women really wanted. In addition, the new type of Chinese farmers, women professional farmers´ common characters and challenges were, for the first time, studied in the work. This research covers critical factors of economic growth, such as gender, the role of geography, history, culture and policy. The findings can provide information to policy makers, researchers and social organizations concerned with rural women´s future, and assist the improvement of gender equality in China.

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Mei Yang, Ph.D. Studied economics in Massey University, NZ. An associate professor in Northwest A&F University, and the vice deputy of Sci-tech Service Center for Rural Women in Shaanxi, China. A visiting scholar home and abroad, her academic interest and publications cover gender development economics, learning autonomy and agricultural extension.

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