Negotiating gender and creative work in Shanghai's music industry: female creative workers' career choices and...

This article examines the career choices and professional development of female creative workers in Shanghai's music industry and addresses the underexplored gendered dynamics of creative labour in China. Material realities of cultural production have received significant attention concerning artists' insufficient remuneration and atypical employment; however, how women cope with the complexities of precarious creative work, the pressures of urban life, and gender inequality in China has not been fully documented. This study adopts a qualitative research approach, drawing on 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews and applying thematic analysis. The research findings reveal that career choices are primarily driven by intrinsic motivation, particularly passion for music, while educational background, social networks, economic considerations, and industry prestige also influence decisions. Regarding professional experiences, the urban environment of Shanghai, the creative industry ecosystem, personal experiences, and support resources collectively shape job satisfaction and career development potential. Gender effects are observed through implicit workplace discrimination and conflicts between professional identity and family responsibilities. Career planning is influenced by factors such as marriage and childbearing, salary, growth potential, job stability, working hours, and stress, with family, social networks. These findings suggest that the precariousness of female creative labour in China cannot be understood solely through universal accounts of creative work insecurity. Rather, it is shaped by the interaction between global creative labour inequalities and China's specific gender norms, labour structures, and policy environment. The study therefore contributes to broader debates on gendered precarity by highlighting how local institutional contexts reshape the experience of creative labour across the life course.