On31stMay,2021,Chinafurthereasedthefamilyplanningpolicy,allowingallcouplestohavethreechildren,inordertoraisethebirthrateandoffsettheimpactoftheagingpopulationproblem.Despitetheone-childpolicyhasbeenchangedintothetwo-childpolicyinrecentyears,thepastfiveyearshaveprovedthatafavorablefamilyplanningpolicyaloneisnotenoughtoreversethedecliningbirthrate.Asthethree-childpolicycameout,ittriggeredaheateddiscussionamongnetizens.
三孩政策的背景
Whileimprovedlivingstandardshaveincreasedlifeexpectancy,thefamilyplanningpolicy-TheOne-ChildPolicy-hascontributedmosttotheageingtrend.Butalmostfourdecadeson,thefirstgenerationofone-childpolicychildrenhavenewbecomeparentsthemselves,placingontheirshoulderstheresponsibilityofpotentiallyeachhavingtosupporttwoparentsandfourgrandparents.
InMay2021,Chinaincreasedthelegalnumberofchildrenfamilieswerepermittedtohavefromtwotothree.TheThree-ChildPolicyisanattemptbytheChinesegovernmenttomitigatepopulationdecline.Thenewthree-childpolicyhassparkedawaveofdiscussionamongChinesepeople,withvariousviews.
面临的问题
Scholarshavefoundthataftertheuniversaltwo-childpolicytookeffectin2016,thenumberofwomentakingcareerbreakslongerthanhalfaftergivingbirthrose,yetpolicymakershavenottakenanysubstantivestepstoaddressthisissue.Thegovernmentneedstoconsiderhowtoprotecttherightsofthosewhohavebeenorarebeingforcedtoleavetheirpositionsbecauseoftheirdecisiontohaveachild.Forexample,byprovidingalow-ratesocialinsuranceforstay-at-homemothers—andthesmallproportionoffathers—whohavepausedtheircareers.Inaddition,simplyensuringmomscanre-enterthetraditionalworkforceisnotenoughonitsown.IninterviewsIconductedwithstay-at-homemothers,manyexpressedhowdifficultitwastofindagoodjobafteranextendedbreak,notjustbecauseofhowmuchtimetheyspentoutoftheworkforcebutbecausetheydidn’twantorcouldn’treturntothe9-to-5or9-to-9grind.Althoughmanymotherswereinterestedinmoreflexibleemploymentarrangements,thiswouldleavethemoutsidethestate’ssocialsecuritysystem.
解决方案
Toaddressthissituation,thegovernmentneedstoreviseitssocialsecurityrules,regulateworkschedules,andurgeenterprisesandpublicinstitutionstoimplementmeasuresaimedatmakinghavingachildcompatiblewithacareer.Thisisespeciallyimportantinthecontextofthethree-childpolicy.Accordingtoanacademicstudybasedonnationwidedatafrom2016,increasingthenumberofchildreninafamilyfromonetotwopositivelyimpactedtheparticipationofurbanwomenintheworkforce.Whenthenumberexceededtwo,however,ithadanegativeimpact.Atthesametime,itisimportanttorememberthatemploymentratesareonlyonemeasureofgenderequality,andahighemploymentrateformothersdoesn’tonitsownsayanythingaboutthepersistenceofproblemslikethe“motherhoodpenalty.”
可能会出现的影响
Thesearealllong-termconsiderations.Moreimmediately,thethree-childpolicymayhaveunintendedconsequences,especiallyforwomenintheworkplace.AlthoughChineselawexpresslyprohibitsgenderdiscriminationinhiringandforbidsfiringorbreakinglaborcontractsbecauseofmarriage,pregnancy,orpost-natalresponsibilities,thediscriminatorypracticestheserulesaremeanttopoliceareoftendifficulttodetectandhardertoprove.