China population: Jiangsu becomes first province to subsidise maternity leave for second, third child
- Companies in Jiangsu can now claim a reimbursement for maternity leave pay provided to employees who have a second and third child
- Some analysts are sceptical about whether it will encourage childbirth, but say it will decrease discrimination against women in hiring
Jiangsu has become the first Chinese province to subsidise companies for paying insurance to female employees during their second and third period of maternity leave, a policy that could help counter discrimination against women in hiring.
Last week, authorities announced that companies are eligible to be reimbursed for 50 or 80 per cent of the social insurance paid to women who have a second child or a third child, respectively.
Companies can apply for six months of reimbursements from the government.
“Jiangsu’s new policy will have a limited effect on encouraging childbirth, but it is conducive to decreasing discrimination against women in the hiring process,” said independent demographer He Yafu, adding that it is uncertain whether more provinces will follow suit, but local governments will have more policies to support childbirth.
Jiangsu’s policy is one of the latest incentives rolled out to encourage women to have more children. Authorities have already provided tax cuts, direct payments and home purchase subsidies to boost childbirths, which fell to 10.62 million last year, a 11.5 per cent drop from 2020.
