Global Market Surferby INTAGE Inc

[China] When does the mother return to work? Parenting in China

Parenting in China

Child-raising circumstances vary from country to country.
In China, the "80 years later" generation, who was born in the era of the one-child policy, becomes parents, and a total of six people consisting of a couple from the "80 years later" generation and both parents to raise one child has become commonplace. It is not unusual for grandparents to look after their grandchildren at home on weekdays, or for them to be in charge of picking up their grandchildren from kindergarten. 
For example, this man who works in Shanghai, told me that his parents-in-law are in charge of taking his child to the kindergarten and picking up. He and his wife usually go to their house after work and have dinner together, and return home with his child.

　For more details, check out the daily life of a man living in Shanghai.

When will mothers return to work?

I would like to take a look at the situation of child raising in China, including the perspective of how mothers are returning to work.

There are many dual-earner households in China, and many women continue to work after marriage and childbirth. The following table shows the labor force participation rates for women aged 15-64 in each country. China is 60.6%, which is relatively high compared to Japan's 51.4%.

Link to Female labor force participation rate by age

So how do women in China take their leave “before and after giving birth” and “while raising children”?
Under the Japanese system, maternity leave is generally 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after childbirth, and childcare leave is taken until the child's first birthday (it can be extended until the child is 2 years old).

On the other hand, in China's system, although the period of maternity leave is longer than in Japan - 2 weeks before and 16 weeks after childbirth (*) - there is no "childcare leave" in their system, and after returning to work, only a 60-minute breastfeeding break is given by the employer every day. 
For this reason, many women return to work in a few months after giving birth.
(*) In the case of the women giving first birth at age of 24 or older

Who feeds the baby?

In China, it is common for mothers to return to work before their children turn one year old. They also share the responsibility for breastfeeding with others.
The following is the percentage of infants between one month and six months of age who are raised by “exclusive breastfeeding". 

Link to “exclusive breastfeeding rate of infants by month”

In Japan, exclusive breastfeeding rate is about 50% for 6 months old babies, but in China it drops to less than 10% for 6 months old babies. In China, many mothers return to work when their babies turn 6 months old. This indicates that other family members or support service (i.e. fathers, grandparents, and other support services) share the role of breastfeeding by using powdered infant formula or other means of feeding.

Thus, the environment surrounding working women who are raising children differs greatly between Japan and China. There would be differences in the process of decision making and how to use child-rearing products in both countries. Other than that, there is a possibility that their values for cosmetics and entertainment-related products or services are greatly different from those in Japan.

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  Ms. Risa Takahama

  I have been involved in global marketing research for consumer goods manufacturers, mainly in Asia, and is currently developing research solutions to guide the insights of overseas consumers. Whenever I travel abroad, I always stop at a drugstore to buy cosmetics that are unique to that country.

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  Mr. Yusuke Tatsuda

  I am in charge of creating the website Global Market Surfer. While struggling to raise my children during Covid-19 and worried about my children's lack of exercise, I purchased a trampoline recently.

• Jul 29, 2020
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