Current location:style >>
Govt Aims to Reduce Costs Associated with Raising Families
style23111People have gathered around
IntroductionContact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom ...
- Home
- News
- People
- In-depth
- ACWF
Govt Aims to Reduce Costs Associated with Raising Families
ByZhao Yimeng April 10, 2024A volunteer plays with children in a nursery room at a government office in Wuwei, Gansu Province, last year. [Fan Peishen/Xinhua] |
China will improve policies to boost birth rates by refining parental leave policies and increasing the supply of childcare services, according to the Government Work Report released during the two sessions that concluded last month.
These steps will reduce the costs associated with giving birth and raising and educating children, it said.
Many national legislators and political advisers made suggestions and proposals to build a fertility-friendly society during the sessions.
Tan Lin, a deputy to the National People's Congress, said encouraging both men and women to share responsibility for childcare and other family duties will contribute to increasing women's willingness to bear children.
The current incentive measures to guide enterprises into building a friendly environment for fertility and gender equality in employment are insufficient, said Tan, who is also the former vice-chairwoman of the All-China Women's Federation.
A survey conducted by the federation in 2022 covering 1,043 enterprises nationwide revealed that since the implementation of the three-child policy, 25.4 percent of the surveyed enterprises acknowledged situations where only men were recruited or given priority under equal conditions.
Among the 930 surveyed enterprises with female employees who had given birth, 63.4 percent did not implement the policy of extending maternity leave.
In addition, 82.4 percent of the enterprises hoped for subsidies on social insurance premiums during maternity leave, while 74.4 percent expected that the allowance for extended maternity leave would be paid from the basic medical insurance for employees.
"Traditional views regarding women as the primary caregivers in the family need to be changed," Tan said.
The fourth Chinese Women's Social Status Survey, conducted in 2020, indicated that employed women spend an average of 154 minutes per day on household chores, approximately twice as many as men.
Meanwhile, 76.1 percent of the daily care for children under age 17 was shouldered by mothers. Research shows that childbirth and childcare are the primary reasons for women's career interruptions, she said.
Tan suggested improving the mechanism for the reasonable sharing of childbirth costs. "We need to clarify that maternity leave awards and paternity leave allowances are funded by insurance funds or local finances," Tan said.
Moreover, enterprises can be provided with a certain proportion of subsidies for the social insurance premiums of female employees during maternity leave, she said.
Tan also suggested giving appropriate bonus points or preferential consideration to companies with better gender equality in government procurement and bidding projects.
She recommended strengthening the advocacy of men's parenting responsibilities through the media, urging couples to share family burdens and truly increase women's willingness to bear children.
Political adviser Wu Ruijun said childcare services play a crucial role in promoting gender equality in employment and reducing the burden of childcare on families.
Wu, a professor from East China Normal University's School of Social Development, said the general cost of childcare services in China is high.
According to a 2020 survey from the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the average monthly cost for childcare institutions is around 2,700 yuan ($375), accounting for 36 percent of the disposable income of Chinese families that year.
Some private childcare institutions have reduced their admission fees after converting to inclusive childcare institutions, but high operating costs such as rent and salaries make it difficult to achieve a revenue balance, Wu said.
(Source: China Daily)
32.3KPlease understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: [email protected]. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn.
Comments
Magazines
Projects
- 2023 Women Science and Technology Innovation Pioneer...
Photos
- Tea Gardens Enter Harvest Season in Anhui, E China
- Pic Story of Cleaners at Glacier Park of Yulong...
Special Coverage
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Planet Perspectives news portal”。http://mongolia.liveandunplugged.org/news-38b899932.html
Related articles
Some of the Catholic Church's best
styleVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has revised how it evaluates purported supernatural events, such as ...
【style】
Read moreMiddle school focuses on recovery as authorities investigate shooting of armed student
styleMOUNT HOREB, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin authorities on Thursday promised a thorough investigation of the ...
【style】
Read moreFilm executives on developing IPs and reaching global audiences
styleFilm industry elites gathered on April 22 during a workshop at the 14th Beijing International Film F ...
【style】
Read more
Popular articles
- The Dow closed above 40,000. What it means for your 401(k)
- China flays overseas talk about 'overcapacity'
- Record 711 migrants crossed the Channel yesterday
- Send us Patriots: Ukraine's battered energy plants seek air defenses against Russian attacks
- China makes headway in addressing ship pollution on Yangtze River
- Kentucky judge declines, for now, to lift ban on executions
Latest articles
Resilience, potential, fundamentals of Chinese economy remain sound
Russian state media is posting more on TikTok ahead of the U.S. presidential election, study says
Warriors executive Onsi Saleh joins Hawks front office at assistant GM
Chinese film executive upbeat on Sino
HKSAR gov't welcomes policy of visa
Awards give books an exciting chapter
LINKS
- 'Rust' armorer called 'sloppy,' defense says she's a scapegoat
- School attendance held back by sickness
- RNZ's brand new current affairs show: 30 with Guyon Espiner
- Killer whale vs shark: Solo orca eats great white
- Some Auckland train services cancelled
- Christopher Luxon and business leaders to travel to South East Asia on trade, diplomatic mission
- Public sector workers 'angry, annoyed' at government job cuts
- Government's transport plan costly to society and climate, 88 academics warn
- Coalition talks: No more face to face meetings this weekend
- NY police to pay $17.5m over hijab mugshot row