Can cultural labor empower women in the context of intangible cultural heritage? A case study of Jian’ou Tiaofan

Intangible cultural heritage has the potential to enhance women’s empowerment and gender equality. By focusing on the case of Jian’ou Tiaofan, as a form of Chinese intangible cultural heritage, this study investigates women’s empowerment through cultural labor in the context of intangible cultural heritage. Results show that women’s empowerment is essentially a process that begins with the redistribution of cultural power from male folk elites to women and realizes the reproduction of power through the transformation and accumulation of resources. As women engage in preserving and inheriting of intangible cultural heritage, their empowerment evolves dynamically across the three stages of ‘task-oriented empowerment,’ ‘career-oriented empowerment,’ and ‘mission-oriented empowerment’ driven by the internal mechanism of ‘functional premium–justice distance–empowerment autonomy.’ This study deepens the understanding of women’s participation and their empowerment. In order to combine women’s empowerment with the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, it is suggested that relevant entities encourage women to participate in cultural labor and address the issue of gender justice embedded in this process. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor \& Francis Group.