The Two-Child Policy and Maternity Leave in China: At the Crossroad of Demography and Female Empowerment

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On January 1st, 2016, the Chinese two-child policy went into effect. This policy ended the 35-year one-child policy that imposed a fine on families who chose to have two children. The two-child policy suggests that China seeks to enlarge their next generation As a government-led effort to ease population control, the two-child policy has thus far not yielded the effect its policy-makers hoped for. In fact, according to public opinion polls, many Chinese families are unwilling to have a second child.[1] This reception of the two-child policy among young couples has called into question the effectiveness of this loosening on demographic policy.

China’s demographic policy is inextricably linked to the age and gender composition of the future labour force.[2]  The availability of labour has always been an issue of contention for Chinese authorities and is associated with the sustained development of the national economy. For instance, research has shown that regions with lower fertility rates experience higher demands for migrant labor. Given the scope of the problem, the city of Beijing is concerned.

However, the current unwillingness to have an additional child amongst young couples is more rooted in more short-term concerns for economic stability. The overwhelming majority cite economic reasons as the primary cause of unwillingness to have a second child, especially young employees who work in urban centers. The working generation in China is experiencing unprecedented economic pressure. In addition to the country’s competitive job market, living costs in major cities induce anxiety among entry level employees. Combined with the aging demographic in China, young workers experience pressure to support their elders while also trying to manage debt and maintain a decent standard of living.[3] As a result, financial constraints have become a widespread deterrence from increased fertility rates, and thus a setback as the Chinese government attempts to revitalize population growth. [4]

Critically, financial insecurity disproportionately affects working women. Women in China face a difficult situation, resulting from entrenched sexism in the workplace. Sexism is manifested in areas including “hiring discrimination, lower wages, wrongful dismissal, forced departure into early retirement”.[5] These conditions add to the exhausting and costly reconciliation of family life and employment for female employees. In China, many working mothers have a sense of ‘maternal guilt’, torn between their plans for childbirth and their career.[6] In the context of financial stress and gender-based discrimination, the decision to forgo a second child seems logical and inevitable.

Despite this economic and social backdrop, the Chinese government does possess the means to a solution. At the intersection of employment security and female protection, maternity leave policies are linked to the willingness of young women to have a second child. More substantive employment security will incentivize demographic productivity while also achieving the important objective of protecting the rights of working women. Meanwhile, the government has expressed its encouragement for more childbirth by removing the clause commending “late marriage and late childbearing” in relevant provisions.[7] Moreover, in some regions, the government has even introduced additional paternity leave allowances of roughly 15 days. [8] Most importantly, the government has announced additional days of maternity leave for women who are taking the opportunity to have a second child.[9]

Currently, the Chinese system for maternity leave is the sum of the number of days from the following three components: state policy, municipal or regional regulations, and employer permission.[10] During the leave, expecting mothers receive a lieu of salary paid by the country’s Social Security Bureau.[11] Women are also offered special protection during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding periods, including exemptions from unreasonable firing.[12] In 2012, the federal government in China extended the minimum number of days from 90 to 98 in the “Provisions on Female Labor Protection under Special Circumstances”, also known as State Council Decree No. 619.[13] In addition to the federal minimum, each province adds additional days, which is then further complemented at the discretion of the employer. For example, provinces such as Sichuan, Fujian, and Shandong are known to have relatively longer permitted leaves.[14] In recent years, China’s development in maternity leave policies has been characterized as generally pro-employee.[15]

However, despite policy changes, access to maternity leave and female empowerment remain blurry at best. For instance, instructions for seeking extended leave from employers are extremely vague.[16] Furthermore, navigating the bureaucracy to obtain “baby permits,” otherwise known as family planning service certificates, remains a challenge.[17] Beyond the policy framework, there remains considerable and often inter-generational and traditional cultural pressure on women to prioritize caring for the family. Older generations often do not understand why economic stability has any relevance to child-rearing since most of China’s working population today was born under harsh economic conditions.

A mix of sociological and structural influences deter working women from acting in line with the Chinese government’s hopes for more childbirth. Maternity leave policies are central to female empowerment, demographic development, and financial security for young workers in China. The status quo reflects the pressing necessity for China’s increasingly free childbirth policy to be matched with similar support for working women. As female employees in China feel less anxious about leaving their jobs temporarily to have children, the two-child policy’s effectiveness will increase. Extending maternity leave is a win-win solution and can play an important role in achieving the country’s long-term plan to increase population growth and to promote gender equality.

References

Attané, Isabelle. 2016. “Second Child Decisions in China.” Population and Development Review 42 (3): 519-536.

Cheng PJ, Duan T. China’s New Two-Child Policy: Maternity Care in The New Multiparous Era. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2016

Lan, Manyu, & Kuang, Yaoqiu. (2016). The Impact of Women’s Education, Workforce Experience, And The One Child Policy on Fertility in China: A Census Study in Guangdong, China. SpringerPlus, 5(1), 1-12.

Lan, Mathilda. “How Will China’s New 2-Child Policy Affect Working Women?” China-US Focus. January 5, 2016. http://www.chinausfocus.com/political-social-development/how-will-chinas-new-2-child-policy-affect-working-women.

Levin, Dan. “Many in China Can Now Have a Second Child, but Say No.” The New York Times. February 25, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/world/asia/many-couples-in-china-will-pass-on-a-new-chance-for-a-second-child.html?_r=0

Phillips, Tom. “China May Bring In ‘Two-Child Policy’ to Tackle Demographic Timebomb.” The Guardian. July 23, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/23/china-may-adopt-two-child-policy-this-year-as-demographic-timebomb-looms.

PTI. “China’s Two-Child Policy Evokes Poor Response From Couples.” The Indian Express. November 17, 2015. http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/chinas-two-child-policy-evokes-poor-response-from-couples/

Wang, Fei, Liqiu Zhao, and Zhong Zhao. “China’s Family Planning Policies and Their Labor Market Consequences.” IZA Newsroom. February 2016. http://ftp.iza.org/dp9746.pdf.

Wang, Xiaodong. “Mothers get extra maternity leave for second child.” China Daily. March 25, 2016. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-03/25/content_24084928.htm.

Yao, Rainy, and Steven Elsinga. “Expecting in China: Employee Maternity Leave and Allowances.” China Briefing. November 11, 2014. http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2014/11/11/maternity-leave-allowance-china.html.

Yang, Grace. “Maternity Leave in Beijing: It’s Local and It’s Complicated.” China Law Blog. October 08, 2016. http://www.chinalawblog.com/2016/10/maternity-leave-in-beijing-its-local-and-its-complicated.html.

Zhang, Laney. “China: Maternity Leave Further Extended by Provinces.” Global Legal Monitor. Library of Congress. May 3, 2016. http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/china-maternity-leave-further-extended-by-provinces/.

The content of this article does not represent the positions, research methods, or opinions of the Synergy Editorial Committee. We are solely responsible for reviewing and editing submissions. Please address all scholarly concerns directly to the contributor(s) of the article.


Angela Hou is an undergraduate student pursuing a major in International Relations. She is interested in contemporary Asian affairs, particular topics in the East Asian Region. She currently serves as a copy-editor for Synergy: The Journal of Contemporary Asian Studies.

[1] PTI. “China’s Two-Child Policy Evokes Poor Response From Couples.” The Indian Express. November 17, 2015. http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/chinas-two-child-policy-evokes-poor-response-from-couples/.

[2] Fei Wang, Liqiu Zhao, and Zhong Zhao. “China’s Family Planning Policies and Their Labor Market Consequences.” IZA Newsroom. February 2016. http://ftp.iza.org/dp9746.pdf.

[3] PTI. “China’s Two-Child Policy Evokes Poor Response From Couples.” The Indian Express. November 17, 2015. http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/chinas-two-child-policy-evokes-poor-response-from-couples/.

[4] Tom Phillips. “China May Bring In ‘Two-Child Policy’ to Tackle Demographic Timebomb.” The Guardian. July 23, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/23/china-may-adopt-two-child-policy-this-year-as-demographic-timebomb-looms.

[5] Isabelle Attané. 2016. “Second Child Decisions in China.” Population and Development Review 42 (3): 519-536.

[6] Mathilda Lan. “How Will China’s New 2-Child Policy Affect Working Women?” China-US Focus. January 5, 2016. http://www.chinausfocus.com/political-social-development/how-will-chinas-new-2-child-policy-affect-working-women.

[7] Laney Zhang. “China: Maternity Leave Further Extended by Provinces.” Global Legal Monitor. Library of Congress. May 3, 2016. http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/china-maternity-leave-further-extended-by-provinces/.

[8] Ibid

[9] Xiaodong Wang. “Mothers get extra maternity leave for second child.” China Daily. March 25, 2016. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-03/25/content_24084928.htm.

[10] Ibid

[11] Rainy Yao, and Steven Elsinga. “Expecting in China: Employee Maternity Leave and Allowances.” China Briefing. November 11, 2014. http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2014/11/11/maternity-leave-allowance-china.html.

[12] Lan, Manyu, & Kuang, Yaoqiu. (2016). The Impact of Women’s Education, Workforce Experience, And The One Child Policy on Fertility in China: A Census Study in Guangdong, China. SpringerPlus, 5(1), 1-12.

[13] Rainy Yao, and Steven Elsinga. “Expecting in China: Employee Maternity Leave and Allowances.” China Briefing. November 11, 2014. http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2014/11/11/maternity-leave-allowance-china.html

[14] Cheng PJ, Duan T. China’s New Two-Child Policy: Maternity Care in The New Multiparous Era. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2016

[15]Grace Yang. “Maternity Leave in Beijing: It’s Local and It’s Complicated.” China Law Blog. October 08, 2016. http://www.chinalawblog.com/2016/10/maternity-leave-in-beijing-its-local-and-its-complicated.html

[16] Ibid

[17] Dan Levin. “Many in China Can Now Have a Second Child, but Say No.” The New York Times. February 25, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/world/asia/many-couples-in-china-will-pass-on-a-new-chance-for-a-second-child.html?_r=0

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