Abstract: The 2014 China Family Panel Studies （CFPS） data was used to analyze the impact of child care on female non-agricultural employment, and to ex plore the role of family endowment in alleviating the obstacles between the two. The results showed that child care had an important and significant inhibitory effect on rural female non-agricultural employment, and family economic capital and human capital could partially reduce the cost of rural women taking care of children and help to alleviate this inhibitory effect. In addition, the heterogeneity analysis from the perspectives of rural women’s age, child’s age, and daytime caregivers was conducted, and the results once again proved that child care hindered rural female non-agricultural employment. This result reflected that there were still some rural women laborers in China who had not entered the non-agricultural employment market because they needed to take care of children. Improving family endowments was conducive to the release of these important laborers, which had practical significance in adjusting the structure of the labor market, improving the family’s economic living standard and well-being and finding a balance between family and work for rural women.

Key words: child care, family endowment, rural women, non-agricultural employment, labour market