China’s tax authority said it will study the feasibility of offering preferential rebates to companies with a significant female workforce in a bid to stamp out discriminatory hiring practices that often overlook married women or new mothers.
There has been a prevailing opinion that despite a variety of support policies, a three-child policy might make Chinese women less welcome in the workplace when they are already discriminated against in the job market due to employers' concerns over their maternity leave.
In China, women are entitled to have 98 days of maternity leave with full pay. Now some regions, such as Beijing, are considering a possible extension as "a support measure" to encourage couples to have more babies.
More than 58 percent of female respondents were asked about their status quo and plans for marriage and children, according to a survey conducted by Chinese job hunting platform Zhaopin Ltd. in 2020.
Hong Kong-listed toymaker Pop Mart International Group Ltd. apologized in June after being exposed online for asking female job candidates to write down whether and when they planned to have children.
Longer maternity leave would make working women less competitive in the job market, especially those who rely on their job incomes to support families, or young women who have less experience and competence, said a Beijing-based headhunter surnamed Ma, who has been in the talent searching business for 10 years.
Thanks to the rising awareness of women's rights, less companies in China now specify a gender requirement or preference, and large enterprises usually can adhere to this, she said.
China's National People's Congress has suggested giving tax breaks or subsidies to enterprises that hire more women, without specifying the number or ratio. The State Taxation Administration replied on July 27 that they would "conduct active research" on related policies.
