Migrant Women’s Social Support in a Metropolis of China

Abstract

Social support and gender are important issues for understanding Chinese internal migrants. This study attempts to explore the social support conditions and needs of Chinese internal migrant women. Fifteen migrant women living in Beijing were interviewed about the types and sources of social support they received and needed. They reported receiving various types of support mainly from informal ties, but rarely from formal support networks. They identified the needs for social support clustered on instrumental, informational, and emotional support. Moreover, although they reported willingness to seek formal support, they expressed concerns for the credibility and availability of possible formal support.

During the past three decades, China has seen the greatest wave of internal migration in human history (Jin, Wen, Fan, & Wang, 2012). By 2014, it was estimated that around 274 million migrant workers moved from rural areas into cities and towns, of which one third were women (National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China, 2015). This colossal population of migrants has attracted public and academic attention.

Migration causes disruptions in the routines and structures of the daily lives of migrants, as they have to establish new lives after settlement (Neufeld, Harrison, Stewart, Hughes, & Spitzer, 2002; Wong, 2001). Social support often has to be sought during the process of settlement. Migration always involves separation from parts of one’s original social networks in sending communities and reorganization of new social networks in receiving communities (Li, Yang, Yue, & Jin, 2007; Wong & He, 2006). The disequilibrium between the need of these migrants and the availability of social support warrants research on social support of migrants.

The importance of gender differences has been stressed in migration study (Pedraza, 1991), as men and women typically experience migration differently (Curran & Saguy, 2001). Research on migrant women has shown that women assume more work when they undertake the meshing of work and family systems (Ho, 2006; Salaff & Greve, 2004) and suffer from more disadvantages in the migration process than men (Zhou, 2000). A gender-specific understanding of migration is needed for the well-being of migrant women.

Previous research on migration and social support has shown that Chinese male internal migrants received more social support, had larger social support networks, and consequently were in better condition than their female counterparts (Li et al., 2007; Liu, Yin, Huang, Lin, & Zhang, 2010). One study indicated that Chinese immigrant women in the United States had low incomes, heavy household burdens, and little social support (Zhou, 2000). However, literature on social support of Chinese internal migrant women is scant, as is literature detailing their needs for social support.

This study attempts to address this limitation by exploring the social support conditions and needs of Chinese migrant women. Specifically, a sample of 15 women who have migrated into Beijing talked about the types and sources of social support they received as well as the social support they needed. The findings are useful in developing social policies and social work interventions related to improving the well-being of migrant women in urban areas.

Literature Review

Types and Sources of Social Support

Social support is the perceived availability of support from the social networks of individuals (Wong & Leung, 2008). It is a multidimensional concept encompassing types and sources of support (Z. He, 2001; Wong & He, 2006). On the one hand, social support refers to the actual flow of resources in social networks, which have functions in weathering the crises in daily life and improving a person’s health and well-being (Z. He, 2001). On the other hand, social support concerns the existence of and interconnection between social ties, which affect a person’s attainment of social support (Wong & He, 2006). A social support network is part of a person’s social network or social relationship and indicates his or her ability to obtain social resources in a social structure (Wang & Tong, 2004). On the whole, different sources of social support providers offer different types of support to receivers (Z. He, 2001; Wong, 2001). Wong and He (2006) argued that both types and sources of social support should be examined in any study on social support.

Z. He (2001) reviewed classifications of social support in extant social science studies. Although there are divergences among scholars (e.g., Chan & Qiu, 1999; Li et al., 2007; Wellman & Wortley, 1990), tangible and intangible social support can be classified roughly into four types: (a) instrumental support, such as providing financial assistance and sharing of tasks through physical labor; (b) informational support, such as offering information and advice on family and employment issues; (c) emotional support, such as listening, expressing, and understanding; and (d) social companionship support, such as engaging in social interactions and activities for fun and relaxation. Those types of social support have been proved by empirical studies on Chinese immigrants to Hong Kong (Wong, 2001; Wong & He, 2006).

Studies on social support networks identified that the providers of social support are directly linked to the receivers by various social ties (e.g., Ruan, 1998; Wang & Tong, 2004). The providers comprise informal and formal networks (Chan & Qiu, 1999). The informal support networks are generally categorized into kinship, friendship, occupational, and geographical ties (Z. He, 2001). Formal social ties indicate possible support to an individual from governmental, community, and organizational relationships (Neufeld et al., 2002; Wong, 2001).

Social Support and Migration

Peer-reviewed studies on social support of Chinese internal migrant women are rather limited. Studies on social support for Chinese women who immigrated to America, Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong have found that social support networks play diverse functions in instrumental, informational, emotional, and social companionship support (Ho, 2006; Neufeld et al., 2002; Salaff & Greve, 2004; Wong & He, 2006; Zhou, 2000). Informal networks of kinship and friendship are the most important sources of support (Neufeld et al., 2002; Wong, 2001). Studies on both genders of internal migrants in China found that they relied on their original ties (kinship and friendship ties, especially from the same hometown) to reduce migration stresses and difficulties (Jin et al., 2012; Li et al., 2007). One study reported that young internal migrant girls used these ties to find jobs and settle down in Beijing (Quan, 2003). In contrast, the formal social support networks provided very little support to internal migrants (Jiang, 2012).

Several limitations of the previous studies should be noticed. First, the studies on both genders of internal migrants rarely specified the situation of female migrants. As research has shown that female migrants are more likely to experience adjustment difficulties (Curran & Saguy, 2001; Ho, 2006; Salaff & Greve, 2004), more attention to this group is needed. Second, these studies investigated the social support already received, or perceived to be available, in the lives of migrants. No study has examined the needs for types and sources of support for migrants, that is, what types and sources of support they hope to have. For example, studies have reported that migrants used little formal support but have not examined migrants’ needs for these formal support networks. It is possible that the support they receive might be quite different from what they need the most. It is also possible that, although they might have received some types or sources of support, the amount of the support they receive could not meet their needs and they would still need this kind of support. Therefore, more research needs to be done to explore the social support needs of migrants. Third, the lack of empirical research on their situation prevents the formulation of evidence-based intervention to migrant women. Policy makers and social service agencies need to target their real needs and take suitable measures to meet these needs. This study tries to address the above limitations by exploring the social support conditions and needs of internal migrant women in Beijing. It aims to provide an empirical knowledge base that can inform the development of quality services and policies for migrant women in urban areas.

Method

Research Approach and Recruitment

Since there was an absence of information about the social support of internal migrant women, this study adopted a qualitative research approach to explicate issues revolving around this topic. The study was carried out in Beijing. According to Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau (2015), there were eight million migrants in Beijing, making it one of the largest host cities of internal migrants in China. Women were selected for the study if they (1) migrated to Beijing more than 6 months ago, thus qualifying officially as a migrant; (2) were between 20 and 50 years old, because young and middle-aged migrants comprised more than half of the population; (3) were married with children, thus having family obligations to fulfill; and (4) were employed and were highly probable to have multiple roles to play. This resulted in a diversified sample of 15 women aged between 25 and 43, with a mean age of 36 years. They came originally from eight provinces in China and have stayed in Beijing an average of 6.5 years. More than two thirds of them had a middle school education, and all were married and had children. With regard to their jobs, five were self-employed retailers or peddlers, two were waste pickers (collecting beverage bottles), and the rest were service workers (cleaners, gatekeepers, elevator operators, and a waitress). In addition, 14 participants reported having moved or sought refuge with their kinship or friendship ties in Beijing, and 10 participants reported living in the same community as their relatives and/or fellow migrants. However, they reported having few contacts with local Beijing residents.

Data Collection and Sampling

Face-to-face, semistructured interviews were conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of the experience of the women in two rounds of data collection. Ten interviews were collected in 2012 to learn the general situation of social support and the data were analyzed afterward. Needs for specific support emerged from the findings, so the researchers probed further into the needs of social support, resulting in the second round of data collection. Five more interviews were carried out in 2014 to supplement the initial data. Interviewees were asked two groups of questions in both rounds of data collection: (a) the types of help they have received and who gave them support in handling the difficulties and (b) the types of help they needed and whom they preferred to ask for help. The needs for social support were addressed in the second round. The interviews were conducted by the third author at the women’s homes or places of work at a convenient time according to the participants’ preference. The 15 interviews lasted an average of 43 minutes and were collected in seven communities of Beijing. They were recorded after obtaining consent from the participants. This study was approved by the department which the corresponding author affiliates and conducted under the ethical guidelines. The researchers did no harm to research participants in any case. The study used a nonprobability sampling strategy, with a combination of purposive sampling and convenience sampling. Acquaintance and peer referrals were used to approach potential participants.

Data Analysis and Trustworthiness

One researcher transcribed verbatim the audio records, and a research assistant double checked the transcripts. Data analysis began with smaller units but ultimately reached broad themes, allowing the results emerged from the data. Constant comparison was used in first and second coding steps and data processing software Nvivo 8.0 was employed. Two researchers analyzed the data separately, the results were compared, and congruence was reached among all the researchers to generate the final results. To avoid losing any meaning of the dialogue, the interviews were conducted and analyzed in Mandarin Chinese, which is the native language of the researchers and the participants. Quotes that represented major themes were translated from Chinese to English, with the integrity of meanings maintained. Memo writing, journal keeping, rich description, and context specification were utilized as techniques to increase the trustworthiness of the study. Personal identifying information was erased from the records and transcripts to protect the anonymity of the participants. Pseudonyms were used in the article.

Findings

In this study, four types of social support received by migrant women were identified, including instrumental (financial assistance and service), informational (information and advice), social companionship, and emotional support. Informal sources of support included (a) kinship ties, including family (spouses, parents, and children) and other relatives (siblings, cousins, etc.); (b) friendship ties, including fellow migrants (persons from the same hometown as the respondent) and other friends; and (c) other ties, including occupational ties (coworkers) and geographic ties (neighbors in the receiving community). Because occupational and geographic ties were not as important as kinship and friendship ties in providing support as revealed in the findings, they were combined into one group. Relationship overlapping was eliminated in the order of kinship, friendship, and other ties (Ruan, 1998). For example, if a support provider was both a relative and a coworker of the respondent, the relationship was coded as kinship. Counts of support were calculated according to the three provider groups to simplify the analysis and the presentation of the findings.

Social Support in the Women’s Lives

The participants described types and sources of social support they received after moving into the city. They usually received financial assistance from their close social relationships. Ten participants reported that they once borrowed money from their family and relatives. Boling, a 29-year-old waste picker with two children, said “I borrowed money several times in the past. It’s my siblings and mom I primarily asked.” Seven participants stated they used to borrow money from their fellow migrants and friends. Haphazard heavy physical work and long-term caring for dependents, such as moving, unloading, and looking after children, present challenges of physical strength and time management for the migrant women. Thirteen participants reported they usually received help in services from family and relatives, fellow migrants and friends, and coworkers and neighbors. Jieyi, a 42-year-old gatekeeper, moved 6 times since she migrated to Beijing. Her relatives, who were also her neighbors and fellow migrants, gave her a hand in moving. Meilan, 43, an elevator operator, recalled that her mother-in-law took care of her son after his birth. Her husband sent the boy to a daycare center and picked him up daily. When the couple was unavailable, Meilan’s sister, a distant relative, or even a neighbor downstairs would pick him up.

When information about seeking a job or medical service was needed, or a critical decision needed to be made in their lives, the participants would resort to their kinship and friendship ties. Thirteen participants reported that they would ask their spouses, parents, siblings, and cousins for information and advice. Eight participants frequently consulted with their fellow migrants and friends. Chunxi was a 30-year-old who worked as a retailer of artificial jewelry and hair accessories in a market. She commented, “If he had no friends or relatives in the city, a businessman could not get help and guidance in business investment, might find nothing to do, and would lose money.” Hong, 40, was a gatekeeper with two children who has been in Beijing for 4 years. One year ago she persuaded her husband, a truck driver, to resign a well-paid job in their hometown and migrate to Beijing. She recalled, “I discussed the decision with my sister. My best friend also supported me in making the decision.”

As for social companionship, spouses should have been significant partners for the married women. But husbands were often unavailable due to distance or schedule. They had been accustomed to obtaining companionship from their siblings, friends, coworkers, and so forth, when seeing a doctor, handling affairs, and socializing. Nan was a 25-year-old waitress with an elementary education. Her 1-year-old son had delayed brain development and her husband worked in another city. When Nan brought her son to the hospital and could not check in, her brother went to a scalper to secure an appointment. Ouyang, a 36-year-old cleaner with two children, told us: “All my coworkers are single in Beijing (their husbands are not in Beijing), so we hang out together. At the end of every month, we go to a buffet for fun.”

Ten participants reported that their emotional support came from their family and relatives, and 11 participants reported emotional support from their fellow migrants and friends. Boling said, “When I am in bad mood or have difficulties, I talk with my sister or sister-in-law. Pouring out my troubles comforts me.” Kailin, a cleaner at 32, usually told her husband about unpleasant things in her life. When she quarreled with her husband, she would confide in fellow migrants.

In other words, informal kinship and friendship ties provided all four types of support to the women. Occupational and geographic ties provided services and companionship but were absent in providing financial, informational, and emotional support in the scripts. A typical case was that of Linmei, a 43-year-old cleaner with a high school education. She moved to a new job and gossip about her husband spread quickly to her new coworkers. After yuan ward, she hesitated to confide in her coworkers. We found that very few participants reported having obtained social support from formal networks. Fang was 42 years old with one child and worked as a fruit peddler on a university campus. The university labor union contacted her several times when they needed migrant delegates in propagandistic and entertainment activities. This was the only experience she had with formal social organizations. Nan earned a monthly income of 2,000 Renminbi (RMB) yuan (about 320 U.S. dollars; the same currency below) and she had spent 30,000 yuan (4,840 dollars) on outpatient medical services for her son. She applied for public medical assistance from the government in her hometown but has not received support yet, because only inpatient expenditures can be reimbursed. Formal social support did not exist in these participants’ lives.

Unsatisfied Needs for Social Support

The participants expressed their needs for specific types of support when they, as outlanders, were trying to adjust in the city. Their needs concentrated on instrumental, informational, and emotional support. These types of support were somewhat received in their lives, but the amount they obtained was far from enough given their needs. Need for other support was not extracted from the transcripts.

Ten participants reported that they worried about their financial condition and needed financial support at times. Nan’s son was not covered by any public medical insurance or assistance programs. She calculated expenses for her son: “Formula costs 1,000 yuan a month (163 dollars). Medicine and health examination cost 20,000 yuan each time (3,279 dollars). I must earn as much as possible to cover the expenses.” Meilan paid 1,400 yuan (230 dollars) per month for day care for her son, while her monthly income was only 1,200 yuan (197 dollars). She cannot afford the extra fee charged to her daughter as a migrant student to enroll in a school in Beijing. Facing the deficit, she said “I cried hundreds of times. It’s too hard being a migrant.” As for services, caring for children is the most significant challenge for the middle-aged women, especially those whose children were left behind. Meilan’s daughter was left in her hometown, cared for by the grandma who was concurrently taking care of eight other grandchildren. Her 10-year-old son crossed two streets alone on his way to school in Beijing every day. He even cooked scrambled eggs and tomato when Meilan was at work. Ouyang said, “I envy those stay-at-home mothers because their children are not short of parenting and love. My kids always feel that their parents are out of home. My daughter often asks me when I’ll come back …”

Ten participants reported that they need information on topics such as job searching, starting a business, social insurance and social assistance, school placements, and medical services for children, to name a few. Kailin’s employer declined to pay for her social insurance and she needed relevant knowledge of her entitled benefits. Linmei was sexually harassed when she was searching for a new job. She commented, “Information is most critical among all possible support. I want to find a higher-paying job but yet couldn’t.”

Emotional needs are significant for the women who are away from their families, as 11 participants indicated. Anna, a waste picker at 30, said, “When I feel blue, I sit there doing nothing. In those moments, I really hope someone could be with me and talk to me.” Hong could not fall asleep sometimes because she missed her children. During the lonely and sleepless nights, she would watch TV or browse the Internet via cell phone. Her husband recently moved to Beijing and stays in another district. She described the awkward situation for the couple:

It’s inconvenient for me to come to see him because he lives in a male dormitory. Oops, I live in a female dormitory. I can do nothing with that! We have been separated for three years like this. The children are left behind, so I feel depressed emotionally. That’s it. This is the life of migrants.

To Whom Would They Go for Help?

The interviewer probed into the participants’ intention to seek help from their informal and formal social ties. The transcripts showed that they tended to constrain themselves from seeking help for three reasons. First, seven participants reported they would not bother others because help seeking was embarrassing. Guchun, a vegetable retailer at 40, said, “I’d rather rely on myself to deal with difficulties in life because I don’t want to trouble others.” Second, seven participants thought that others might be incapable to extend help or could not respond to their specific needs. Iyan, a 40-year-old elevator operator, contended, “It’s useless to complain. Nobody could solve my problem.” Jieyi described why she was reluctant to borrow money: “All my friends are migrant workers, living on a meager income and having little money at hand. They also need to prepare for rainy days.” Third, seven participants feared that their privacy would be violated and would rather not let outsiders know their situation and interfere in their business. Elian, a 42-year-old fruit peddler, told us: “I prefer not sharing my problems to others. If someone outside intrudes in family affairs, more troubles will come. People around us will gossip too.” As a result, 14 participants indicated that they would rather confine the difficulties to themselves. This means that they have to bear hardships and remain silent when facing difficulties. Anna said, “Although I really hope someone could stand by me when I need help, in most cases I withstand pain by myself. Sometimes I am so isolated and helpless.”

If they have to seek help, family members are primarily sought, because this incurs less embarrassment. This fact was reiterated by six participants. Ouyang thought that “My sister is bound to help me as it should be. I’ll be embarrassed if I ask others to help me.” Boling said, “I do not hesitate to let my husband help me. For other friends and relatives, I will think it over although they could help me as well.”

There were 12 participants who admitted that when severe accidents happened, formal support networks such as social organizations and social service agencies might provide more support than their personal ties did. Anna said, “If I come across a big problem, which must be very big and needs an immediate solution, I am willing to ask for help from social workers.” However, many participants were concerned about the credibility of the service providers and the availability of the services. Although they had acquired knowledge of social work and social organizations from TV programs or hearsay, 11 participants indicated that they have never witnessed such services in their daily lives. Still, they could not trust the service providers who were strangers to them. Boling said, “People around me have never experienced this (formal social support). I doubt if I can trust them because there are too many scammers that make me doubt everything.” However, five participants indicated that they would ask for help from a service provider with a government background, which might be more reliable and trustful. Jieyi commented, “Social workers should be affiliated with the government, thus ordinary people could trust them. When they are attached to the state, the state will assure us (of the credibility of social work services), and we would feel relieved.” Furthermore, seven participants pointed out that, although they would like to seek formal help, they did not know where and how to seek such help. Nan said,

The doctor told me that I could apply for medical assistance for my son from the local government. But I don’t know what I can do in Beijing. I have no idea where the social work agencies are and if I can get help from other organizations. Nobody tells me how to apply for other support. If I have information of a social service organization, I would definitely go there.

Discussion

This study obtained important findings regarding the social support of internal migrant women in Beijing, China. The findings are discussed in comparison with relevant studies below, followed by limitations and implications of the study. The participants reported receiving instrumental, informational, social companionship, and emotional support after migrating to Beijing. The support came mainly from informal sources of kinship and friendship ties and less frequently from other informal sources. Little was received by the women from formal social support networks. The participants also identified their needs for social support clustered on instrumental, informational, and emotional support. Social companionship was not among their needs. Moreover, they preferred to constrain themselves from seeking help and rely on family ties for support. Although they reported willingness to seek formal support, they expressed concerns for the credibility and availability of possible formal support.

In this study, the women received all four types of support echoes the findings of Chinese immigrants (e.g., Wong, 2001; Zhou, 2000). It seemed that the women have encountered a variety of settlement difficulties, and the resources they brought to cities were too meager to fulfill their needs. Because the support networks they could use were homogeneous and limited (Wang & Tong, 2004) and could not make a substantial difference to their lives, they still reported unsatisfied needs.

The participants utilized various sources of informal social support networks, and kinship ties were heavily drawn on in their search for support, which is consistent with previous findings (e.g., Jiang, 2012; Neufeld et al., 2002). This feature of social support of internal migrant women is quite similar to that of the left-behind female farmers (Zuo, 2010) and rural residents in China (Zhang, Ruan, & Pan, 1999). It also coincides with the support pattern of urban residents in China (Zou & Qin, 2001). The findings revealed that there was a lack of use of occupational ties among the women and that they had no intention to use this source of support. This may be because most of the women were on informal jobs. It is also plausible that they had not established occupational ties as did the urban residents. Considering that occupational ties were more likely to be involved in providing support among urban Chinese residents than rural Chinese residents (Cai, Ye, Kuang, & Zhuo, 1997), internal migrants were expected to use more occupational ties on nonfarming jobs. However, they were still using their strong ties such as primary relatives for support as did the rural residents.

The participants endeavored to constrain themselves from seeking support due to embarrassment, incapability, and privacy reasons. Local Beijing women reported that they resorted to self-help when no other choice was available (Yuen-Tsang, 1999). Chinese immigrants in Japan also placed a high value on independence, reflecting a cultural background of self-help (Matsudaira, 2003). As few studies discussed self-help of internal migrants, this study contributed to the existing literature in explaining the reasons for the self-help patterns of the internal migrants.

Consistent with the findings on Chinese immigrants and internal migrants (Jiang, 2012; Wong, 2001), little support was received by the women from formal support networks. In spite of the Chinese immigrant women’s reluctance to seek formal social support (Neufeld et al., 2002; Wong & He, 2006), this study showed that the internal migrant women recognized the importance of formal support and were willing to seek such help. A study speculated that immigrants had little knowledge of the existence and functions of social service institutions, thus they rarely utilized formal support networks (Wong, 2001). This study confirmed that the credibility and availability of formal service providers prevented them from seeking such help. Against a backdrop of limited development of social organizations and social services agencies in China (B. He, 2003), it is not surprising that migrants lack the knowledge and trust of such service agencies and rarely seek support from them. Further, the increasing reliance on formal support in the process of urbanization (Zou & Qin, 2001) was not evident.

Lastly, the women in the study showed their various roles as wives, mothers, and income earners. On the one hand, they have earned a market role, undertaking more obligations to maintain their family (Salaff & Greve, 2004), which may impact the gender relations within their family. When they had greater authority and participation in household decision-making, migration modernized the women and emancipated them from the assumed traditional family roles (Boyd & Grieco, 2003). On the other hand, their traditional caring role was either reinforced when parts of the original support networks were unavailable after migrating or repressed when their children were left behind and they had to separate from their husbands. This resulted in problems in work-care arrangements. The arduous jobs and forced separation have deprived them of normal family life and led to neglect for their children. They have become lonely wandering souls in the city, isolated from family warmth. Migration led to an improvement in the social status of the women, but inadequate support worsened their situation and highlighted their incomplete roles as mothers and wives.

Limitations and Future Research

This study contributes to social support and migration research by explicating the social support situations and needs of Chinese internal migrant women. Several limitations should be considered when interpreting the findings. First, the study did not capture the dynamic process of social support because the sample consisted of women with various lengths of residence in Beijing and the survey applied a cross-sectional design. The needs for social support might change over time among migrants. Second, the participants were purposively drawn from seven communities in three districts of Beijing. Other types and sources of social support might exist among migrants in other regions. Moreover, most of the participants in the study occupied service sector jobs. As 70% of internal migrants work in service industries in Beijing (Shen & Zhang, 2010), the present sample underrepresents workers in manufacturing factories. Further studies may use cases from different occupations to check the findings. Third, the purpose of this qualitative pilot study is to enquire in depth into the experience of migrant women and therefore utilized a small sample size. Future quantitative research based on random samples of sufficient sample size is needed to provide generable findings on the types and sources of social support, for example, the size, density, range, and homogeneity of their social support network.

Implications

The findings of the study suggest several practice and policy implications. As the women rely on the limited informal social support networks, other sources of support are called for to provide more assistance to migrant women. It is critical to broaden their support networks by getting them involved with social organizations and social work agencies, especially those with government background. For example, they may obtain help from Beijing-based nonprofit organizations “Maple Women Hotline (www.maple.org.cn)” and “Rural Women’s Home (http://www.nongjianv.org)” and government-backed Zaixingdong Social Work Agency (http://www.zxdsg.org/), which provide migrant women with temporary assistance, legal assistance, shelter service, parenting and sex education, empowerment, and psychological counseling. Recognition by the migrants lays a solid foundation for service delivery and organizational development of the organizations. Professional services may ease the migrants’ concerns regarding the professionalism of service providers and possible violations of privacy. Social service providers need to outreach potential clients and enhance their own social reputation before effective services can be delivered.

Basic social and medical security should be offered to the migrants through a unified social assistance system across rural and urban areas. The current segmented social assistance program is based on household registration identity, and migrants have to return to their rural home village to apply for help. The system should be open to migrants, so new city settlers can obtain necessary social and medical assistance.

Support should also be provided to the supporters of these women, such as their elder parents left behind and their husbands, from whom they may be separated. Research on the left-behind grandparents and forced separation of migrant couples is important to gain more understanding of these internal migrants.

Advocacy for not holding back from possible support is called for based on the women’s self-help intention. They should be enlightened that seeking support is not embarrassing or degrading as they may assume. On the contrary, receiving support might be their entitlement and first choice when necessary. Social service agencies should make every effort to reduce the stigma related to the reception of services.

Social advocacy and services should focus on the gender issues of migrants. More family-friendly measures should be presented to female migrants. Social services should shift to a work-care arrangement and be sensitive to the multiple roles of the women. For instance, after-school services for their children and self-support groups among the women would be effective ways to solve childcare problems. These measures would promote employment for the women, meanwhile creating more equality and social solidarity in cities. Measures to reinforce families with separated couples and left-behind children would be considered. For example, housing arrangement in workplace and public housing assistance would provide affordable housing, so the women could live with their husbands and children in cities. Many migrant children do not go to schools in cities because of the unequal treatment in enrolling in schools and the restriction to taking the entrance examination to a school of higher grade. Open enrollment of migrant children in the urban public education system, and establishment of more migrant children schools or charity schools, would not only enable the women to look after their children after work instead of leaving the children behind but also provide equality to migrants’ families.

Conclusion

This research explored the social support conditions and needs of internal migrant women in Beijing, China. The participants reported receiving various types of support mainly from informal ties, but rarely from formal support networks. They identified that needs for social support clustered on instrumental, informational, and emotional support. Moreover, although they reported willingness to seek formal support, they expressed concerns for the credibility and availability of possible formal support. It is imperative to understand their situations and take necessary actions to meet their needs to help them adjust the life upon migration.