Better Jobs for Chinese Women with Family Responsibilities
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Transcript Better Jobs for Chinese Women with Family Responsibilities
Better Jobs for Chinese Women with Family
Responsibilities: Policy Options
Xiao-yuan Dong
University of Winnipeg
CEA annual conference
June 1, 2013
World Bank Report (2013):
Three main characters of good jobs
Living standards
- Need both money and time
Productivity
-
Human resources produced daily and across generations
Social cohesion
-
Women’s household responsibilities - major contributor
Gender - a cross-cutting issue.
Chinese women’s market work and
household responsibility
Chinese women bear major responsibilities for housework
Unpaid housework amounts to 30% of China’s GDP: 70%
contributed by women.
However, the value of housework is not recognized.
Chinese government’s concern : to find the most efficient
way of restructuring the productive economy
They assume that social reproduction will adjust accordingly.
Social protection for women’s reproductive role
China’s economic reforms : substantial cutbacks on the
support of government and the employer for care
provisioning
Public spending on social services is low, even by developing country
standards
a. Public spending on education as share of GDP:
China is 3.1%, lower than the level in other countries.
b. Pre-school enrolment rate (3-6 years):
China in 2008: 47%
Chile in 2006: 75.7% Mexico in 2008: 93.1%
Social protection for women’s reproductive role
Social protection for women’s reproductive role
have been severely eroded.
Under pressure for profits, enterprises are
increasingly reluctant to accommodate workers’
care-giving needs.
Protective labor regulations are not implemented in non-public
sectors;
Export-oriented FDI and private firms hire primarily young, single
migrant women;
Female college graduates face labor market discrimination;
Workers work long hours and overtime work is widespread.
Patriarchal values became more
influential
Percentage of people who agree "Men should play a major role in society while women
should play a major role at home" Surveys of Chinese Women's Status (2000 and 2010)
Struggle of working women : Labour
participation
Working hours and overtime work,
2008
Men
Women
Working hours/week
45.7
43.1
% working ≥ 48 hours
44.9
38.1
Working hours/week
48.0
47.7
% working ≥ 48 hours
54.9
53.6
Working hours/week
51.0
49.5
% working ≥ 48 hours
61.1
58.5
All occupations
Manufacturing
Commercial services
Source: China Labor Force Survey
Time allocation among men and women
20 to 49 years old, by sector (hours/week)
120.0
111.4
103.3
102.4
96.6
100.0
80.0
58.7
60.0
46.0
48.0
43.1
40.0
23.4
21.5
20.0
10.6
6.9
0.0
Men
Women
Men
Urban
Women
Rural
Market work
Housework
Source: 2008 China Time Use Survey
Non-work
Participation rates of men and women
in market work, housework and non-work activities over 24
hours on a weekday
Men
Women
Source: 2008 China Time Use Survey from Qi and Dong (2013)
Housework effects on the monthly earnings of men
and women in non-agricultural sectors
Men
Maximum
duration of
market work
time
0.015***
0.023***
-0.090***
Market work
being
interrupted
-0.104***
-0.006***
No. of times
switching
between MW
and HW
Housework
time
Women
-0.005***
-0.004***
-0.003***
-0.005***
-0.004***
-0.004***
-0.004***
Gender differences in the housework indicators account for 28% of the
gender earnings gap (0.226).
Source: 2008 China Time Use Survey from Qi and Dong (2013)
Earnings differentials between mothers and childless women
in urban China (Fix-effects estimates)
0
-0.1
-0.2
-0.3
-0.4
-0.5
-0.6
-0.7
Source: CHNS from Jia and Dong (2012)
The Log of
Annual
Earnings
The Log of
Hourly
Earnings
% rural men and women aged between 18 and 64 are troubled
By mental health problems in 2010
Source: The Third Survey of Chinese Women’s Status by ACWF
Acute family-work conflicts may have
irreversible demographic consequences
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Database.
Policy options
Need social dialogue:
- Who should be responsible for taking care of children, the disabled
and the elderly?
Acknowledge and support the care economy in macroeconomic
policy
-
Increase public spending on social services and time-saving infrastructural
investment
Improve access to ECE and daycare programs by parents from disadvantaged
social groups
Enforce protective labor regulations
Promote enterprise social responsibility and family-friendly
workplace practice
Encourage men to take on more family responsibilities
Increase women’s voice and political representation