Analysis of the Mechanism of the Role, Willingness and Influencing

Factors of Rural Women Left Behind to Participate in Rural

Revitalization

Shufen Wang

, and Peng Li

International Business School of Shaanxi Normal University, Chang'an District, Xi 'an, China

Keywords:

Rural Left-Behind Women, Rural Revitalization, Mechanism of Action, Willingness to Participate.

Abstract: With the rapid development of urban-rural integration, the population in rural areas has decreased

significantly, and the role of rural women in rural revitalization strategy has become more prominent. Based

on the analysis of the mechanism of rural women's participation in rural revitalization, this paper further

explores their willingness to participate and the constraints. Taking some areas in Shizuishan City, Ningxia

Province, as an example, the data were collected by questionnaires and field surveys. A Probit regression

model was used to empirically analyze the willingness and factors influencing rural women left behind to

participate in rural revitalization. The study results showed that the regression coefficients of factors such as

political outlook, health status and knowledge of rural revitalization strategy were positive and positively

influenced the willingness of rural women left behind to participate in rural revitalization. Based on this, the

countermeasure suggestions that rural left-behind women should change traditional concepts, strengthen the

awareness of independent subjects and improve comprehensive quality, to enhance the power of rural left-

behind women to promote rural revitalization, consolidate the foundation of rural women left behind to help

revitalize the countryside.

1 INTRODUCTION

The implementation of the rural revitalization

strategy is a major strategic plan made by the Party

Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the

core of the overall situation of the Party and the state,

focusing on the realization of the "two hundred years"

goal and the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation

of the Chinese nation, which is a requirement to meet

the expectations of hundreds of millions of people for

a better life and to solve the major social

contradictions in the new era and is an essential

embodiment of people-centeredness. The Opinions

on the Implementation of "Women's Action for Rural

Revitalization" issued by the All-China Women's

Federation in 2018 pointed out that "women are an

important force in promoting the modernization of

agriculture and rural areas, and are the enjoyers and

beneficiaries of rural revitalization, as well as the

promoters and builders." This document provides the

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2800-4869

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4159-6560

basis and direction for rural women to participate in

rural revitalization. According to the relevant data,

rural women have exceeded half of the total rural

population. In the context of the rural revitalization

strategy, rural women are rooted in the countryside

and have accumulated rich planting experience and

life experience. Therefore, they are more capable of

participating in rural revitalization than other left-

behind groups in rural areas. More importantly, the

unique advantages of women also play an essential

role in improving the level of rural construction.

Rapid urbanization has also accelerated the

transfer of rural male labor to the cities, leaving rural

women to care for the elderly and children (Tang,

Luo 2019). This has prompted rural women to

become the main force of family production and life.

The work shared initially by husband and wife has all

put on the shoulders of rural women alone, who are

not only responsible for caring for the elderly and

educating their children but also burdened with heavy

Wang, S. and Li, P.

Analysis of the Mechanism of the Role, Willingness and Inﬂuencing Factors of Rural Women Left Behind to Participate in Rural Revitalization.

DOI: 10.5220/0012073400003624

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Management and Big Data Analysis (PMBDA 2022), pages 285-291

ISBN: 978-989-758-658-3

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

285

agricultural production activities, which makes them

face the heavier burden of care, marital crisis, and

disease (Wang, Ye 2020). A search of the literature

search platform shows that there have been thousands

of articles on the rural revitalization strategy in recent

years but very few on the role of rural women in rural

revitalization. (Hai 2019) pointed out that rural

women's gender advantages play a unique role in

rural regeneration. (Xiao 2020) took a western stay-

at-home village as an example to study the

implementation of a rural revitalization strategy,

which should provide a platform and opportunities

for rural women to show. (Zhang, Dong 2019, Ye

2021) analyzed the dilemmas faced by rural women's

participation in rural revitalization and explored the

path to discover its realization. Based on the existing

studies, the author believes that paying attention to

rural women and solving the real difficulties they face

so that they can have the energy to actively participate

in rural construction has become an important issue

to be solved for the successful implementation of the

rural revitalization strategy.

2 THE MECHANISM OF RURAL

WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN

RURAL REVITALIZATION

Domestic scholars have reached a consensus on the

elaboration of the concept of rural left-behind

women, generally referring to rural married women

whose husbands are engaged in work, business or

other production and business activities outside the

country and whose husbands have been away for

more than half a year (Zhu 2008). According to

statistics from the All-China Women's Federation,

Chinese women, who account for more than 60

percent of the rural labor force, have become the main

force in new rural construction and rural

revitalization and cannot be ignored in deepening the

rural revitalization strategy. General Secretary Xi

Jinping pointed out that women are essential in

promoting social development and progress (Xiao

2019). In the real-time process of rural revitalization

strategy, rural left-behind women have advantages

that other left-behind groups do not have. Their role

is vital in improving the construction level of rural

revitalization. Exploring the mechanism of the part of

rural left-behind women's participation in rural

revitalization strategy will help enrich the rural theory

of rural revitalization strategy will be enhanced.

First, rural women are the foundation of industrial

prosperity. Survey data show that rural women have

significantly improved their technical skills (Table 1),

with about 50% of rural women already knowing "at

least two planting or breeding techniques" in

addition, the increase of new self-media and other

Internet means has further expanded the path of

income generation for rural women left behind.

Second, rural women play an important role in

ecological

accommodation. Survey data show that

due to the advantage of women's environmental

awareness, they are bound to actively participate in

household hygiene, waste treatment and toilet reform

in rural areas, which to a certain extent, lays the

foundation for rural women's participation in rural

environmental governance (Qi 2019). Thirdly, rural

women are the promoters of rural-style civilization.

In the context of implementing the rural revitalization

strategy, rural women, facing the new task of helping

rural development, gradually have an awareness of

accepting new knowledge and actively improving

their comprehensive quality (Yan 2018), so rural

women are not only an important force in rural

construction, but also the promoters of rural style

civilization, and only by continuously learning and

improving their comprehensive quality can they play

a role in driving the civilization of the whole family

and the countryside. Fourth, rural women are

practical and active participants in governance.

Relevant data from the China Women's Development

Program (2011-2020) show that the proportion of

women among village committee directors and the

balance of women among village committee

members is rising (Shui, Liu 2020). Although their

participation is still low, women's awareness of

village governance is gradually increasing, which is

an essential part of rural revitalization. Fifth, the

affluence of rural women is a prerequisite for a

prosperous life. Rural women left behind are the main

constituents of the rural poor and a vital force for

poverty eradication (Cheng 2019). To achieve

women's affluence, the community should provide

precise poverty eradication for rural women and

provide support and assistance in terms of health,

culture, and political participation to give full play to

rural women left behind to help the rural

revitalization strategy.

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Table 1: Survey of the technical skills acquired by rural women.

Type Frequency

Percentage

(%)

Master only one farming or

cultivation technique

33 16.5

Master at least two farming or

planting techniques

100 50

Master three or more breeding

or planting techniques

46 23

There is no farming or

cultivation technology

21 10.5

Total

200 100

Data source: Questionnaire

3 ANALYSIS OF RURAL

WOMEN’S WILLINGNESS AND

CONSTRAINTS TO

PARTICIPATE IN RURAL

REVITALIZATION

STRATEGIES

3.1 Analysis of the Willingness of

Rural Women to Participate in

Rural Revitalization Strategies

Rural women in some areas of Shizuishan City,

Ningxia Province, were selected as study subjects.

Through questionnaires and interviews (Table 2), a

comprehensive understanding of rural women's

willingness to participate in rural revitalization was

obtained through questions such as whether they

actively participate in village elections, whether they

are willing to participate in rural governance affairs,

and whether they actively participate in the activities

of women's federations. According to the survey,

37.5% of the respondents indicated that they actively

participated in the village elections. In comparison,

nearly 60% of the respondents who did not participate

in the village elections stated that they were "willing

to participate in the affairs of rural governance."

Meanwhile, "actively participating in activities

organized by women's federations is also important

to promote rural women's participation in rural

revitalization." 45.5% of the respondents said they

would actively participate in the activities organized

by women's federations.

Table 2: Descriptive analysis of rural women's willingness to participate in rural revitalization.

Variable Options Frequency Percentage (%)

Actively participate in

village elections

Very much in line 7 3.5

Relatively compliant 41 34

Uncertainty 25 25

Relative inconformity 57 57

Very non-conforming 43 43

Willing to participate

in the countryside

Govern the

transaction

Very much in line 7 3.5

Relatively compliant 41 20.5

Uncertainty 81 40.5

Relative inconformity 41 20.5

Very non-conforming 30 15

Actively participate in

activities organized

by the Women's

Federation

Very much in line 6 3

Relatively compliant 91 45.5

Uncertainty 12 12

Relative inconformity 73 36.5

Very non-conforming 18 9

Data source: Questionnaire

Analysis of the Mechanism of the Role, Willingness and Inﬂuencing Factors of Rural Women Left Behind to Participate in Rural

Revitalization

287

3.2 Analysis of Constraints to Rural

Women's Participation in Rural

Revitalization Strategies

This study identified using a Probit regression model

for validation, supported by the existing theoretical

foundation. A Probit regression analysis was

conducted using state15.0 on various factors for 200

rural women to explore and analyze the influence of

rural women's age, educational level, political

appearance, and health status on their willingness to

participate. The model was set as follows:

Y*=𝑐



𝑥



+𝑐



𝑥



+⋯+𝑐



𝑥



+𝜀,𝜀~𝑁(0,1) (1)

Where y is the dependent variable, which in this

paper indicates rural women's willingness to

participate in the rural revitalization and takes the

value of 0 or 1, n indicates the number of influencing

factors; 𝑥



is the independent variable, which

indicates the nth influencing factor;

𝑐



、𝑐



…𝑐



are

the coefficients of the independent variables 𝑥



、

𝑥



…𝑥



; ε is the random error.

3.2.1 Selection and Specific Setting of

Variables

Table 3: The specific definition of variables.

The variable name

Variable meaning and specific

settings

Dependent variable

Whether they are

willing to

participate in rural

revitalization

Yes=1, No=0

Independent

variables

Age

20-29 years old = 1, 30-39

years old = 2, 40-49 years old

= 3, 50-59 years old = 4

Literacy

Illiterate or literate = 1,

elementary school = 2, middle

school = 3, high school

(including junior college) = 4,

college and above = 5

The political

landscape

Crowd = 1, Party members = 2

Stay-behind time

5 years and below = 1, 6-10

years = 2, 11-14 years = 3, 15

years and above = 4

Health status

Not very good=1, fair=2,

better=3, very good=4

Income level

Less than 10,000 yuan = 1,

10,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan =

2, 30,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan

= 3, 50,000 yuan or more = 4

Whether you know

about rural

revitalization

Yes=1, No=0

Actively

participate in

village elections

Very unconforming = 1,

Comparatively unconforming =

2, Uncertain = 3,

Comparatively conforming = 4,

Very conforming = 5

Actively

participate in

training activities

organized by the

Women's

Federation

Very unconforming = 1,

Comparatively unconforming =

2, Uncertain = 3,

Comparatively conforming = 4,

Very conforming = 5

Local

developments are

clearly changing

Very unconforming = 1,

Comparatively unconforming =

2, Uncertain = 3,

Comparatively conforming = 4,

Very conforming = 5

Data source: Questionnaire

3.2.2 Probit Model Regression Results and

Analysis

The regression results of the binary Probit model and

its analysis were analyzed by orderly Probit

regression of the factors influencing rural women's

willingness to participate in rural revitalization

through stata15 statistical software. The variables

were introduced into the model for correlation tests,

and the regression results were differentiated for the

analysis, and the results are shown in Table 4:

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Table 4: Regression analysis of influencing factors of rural women's participation in rural revitalization.

Var ia bl e

Regression

coefficient

Standard

error

Z value P value

A confidence space

with a regression

Age -0.244 0.325 -0.750 0.454 -0.882 0.394

Literac

-0.253 0.127 -2.000 0.046** -0.502 -0.005

The

olitical landsca

e 1.276 0.763 1.670 0.094* -0.219 2.771

Sta

ehind time 0.348 0.342 1.020 0.310 -0.324 1.020

Health status 0.550 0.216 2.550 0.011** 0.128 0.973

Income level -0.011 0.296 -0.040 0.969 -0.591 0.569

Whether you know about rural

revitalization

0.875 0.359 2.43 0.015** 0.170 1.579

Activel

artici

ate in villa

e elections 0.401 0.146 2.750 0.006*** 0.115 0.687

Actively participate in training

activities organized by the Women's

Federation

0.291 0.146 1.990 0.047** 0.004 0.578

Local developments are clearly

chan

0.246 0.182 1.35 0.178 -0.112 0.603

The results showed that among the many

independent variables, education level, political

outlook, health status, whether or not to understand

the rural revitalization strategy, concern for public

affairs and whether or not to actively participate in

the activities of women's federations passed the

significance test and had a statistically significant

effect on rural women's willingness to participate in

rural revitalization.

The regression coefficients of political outlook,

health status, whether they know the rural

revitalization strategy, their concern about public

affairs and whether they actively participate in the

activities organized by women's federations are

positive, which positively influence rural women's

willingness to participate in rural revitalization. The

culture level variable has a significant adverse effect

at the 5% level, which may be attributed to the

hollowing out of rural areas and aging.

4 COUNTERMEASURES AND

SUGGESTIONS TO HELP

RURAL WOMEN PLAY A

ROLE IN RURAL

REVITALIZATION

4.1 Actively Improve Their

Comprehensive Quality and

Enhance Their Ability to

Participate in Rural Revitalization

First, we should strengthen ideological leadership

and raise the independent subject awareness of rural

women. The government conducts propaganda and

education through lectures and other forms to

cultivate and enhance their understanding of

participating in rural governance and raise the

awareness of the main body. Second, we should

increase education and training to improve the

cultural level of rural women. Targeted teaching and

training, good teaching content and appropriate

teaching methods are formulated to enhance the

enthusiasm and initiative of rural women's

participation so that they can better participate in

rural revitalization. Third, pay attention to rural

women’s health while providing mental health

services. Pay further attention to rural women’s

physical and mental health problems, continuously

reduce the gap between urban and rural medical

levels, and promote the continuous improvement of

rural women's health, which fundamentally changes

health behaviors by influencing rural women's health

concepts, thus health behaviors.

4.2 Improve Relevant Policies to

Ensure Rural Women's

Participation in Rural Governance

First, the establishment of relevant policies to protect

the rights of rural women. On the one hand, it is

necessary to establish relevant systems to guarantee

the rights of rural women in terms of policies and

regulations, and on the other hand, in terms of social

security, to strengthen the construction of systems

and the government's capacity to guarantee

management, to improve the rural social security

policy system, especially in terms of medical

security, to enhance the social security of rural

women left behind, and at the same time, to fully

consider the current situation and the interests of rural

Analysis of the Mechanism of the Role, Willingness and Inﬂuencing Factors of Rural Women Left Behind to Participate in Rural

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289

women's needs, and to strive to solve the worries of

rural women. The second is to strengthen the

leadership of women's federations. Second,

strengthen the leadership of women's federations. On

the one hand, strengthen the construction of women's

federation organizations; on the other hand, improve

the overall quality level of women's federation

organizations. The government should regularly

conduct some training and education lectures at the

same time, attract rural women with high education

levels and comprehensive ability to join women's

federation organizations to mobilize the enthusiasm

and initiative of rural women and make them play the

leading role in rural revitalization.

4.3 Strengthen the Construction of

Organizations Themselves and

Establish a Rural Social Service

System

First, the construction of social service facilities in

rural areas should be strengthened. Problems such as

the loss of a young and robust rural labor force and

aging have, to some extent, highlighted the

importance of the rural women left behind. Small

libraries, elderly support centers and trusteeship

centers should be established (Zhang, Zhou et al.

2021) to liberate rural women's labor force further

and give rural women more energy and time to

participate in social activities. The second is to

improve rural social security and enhance rural

women's sense of security. Creating good social

security in rural areas, on the other hand, is the

prerequisite foundation for rural women's

participation in rural revitalization: firstly, legal

literacy through publicity, education, and training to

enhance rural women's legal awareness; secondly,

supporting legal aid to improve the rule of law in rural

governance; and finally, strengthening the

construction of grassroots rule of law teams to enable

rural women to receive the most effective guidance.

5 CONCLUSIONS

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that women

are essential in promoting social development and

progress. In the context of rural revitalization

strategy, the value of women in rural revitalization

strategy should be effectively brought into play, and

rural women left at home should become the

promoters and implementers of rural revitalization

strategy. Although rural women left at home

encounter many problems in rural revitalization, rural

women left at home, as the prominent participants in

implementing the rural revitalization strategy, play a

significant role in the construction of the countryside.

Therefore, to better enable rural women left behind to

participate in rural revitalization, we need to take

some practical measures, such as strengthening

ideological leadership, raising the awareness of rural

women as independent subjects, improving relevant

policies to ensure rural women's participation in rural

governance, improving the construction of

organizations and building a complete rural social

service system, etc., increasing the enthusiasm of

rural women left behind to participate in rural

revitalization strategy and help the development of

rural revitalization.

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