Introduction

Rising life expectancy, fertility concerns, increasing parental employment particularly among mothers with young children, and rising inequality have brought work and family issues into the spotlight globally, including China. The recent ending of China's one-child policy has provided a major impetus for China to formally restructure its Maternity Leave policy. China first adopted such a policy in the 1950s, but it is only since 2001 that the country has significantly expanded Maternity Leave and many provinces have recently introduced Paternity Leave. Even though China now offers generous Maternity Leave policies, great disparities in entitlement and coverage continue, such as between rural and urban areas, and between employees in public and private sectors.

This chapter reviews the evolution of modern Maternity Leave policy in China since the first measures in 1951 and traces the origins of present-day policies that are part of social insurance schemes and rapidly expanding. In its earliest period, China's leave policy was driven mainly by socialist ideals, then by economic goals and women's rights from the 1980s into the new century. We suggest that the most recent shift in family policies was primarily led by social science research, that has raised concerns regarding demographic structure and economic growth. This chapter ends with a discussion of how current changes may affect future directions. The policies described overleaf generally apply to all citizens in theory, urban and rural alike; however, in reality, most, if not all, of the policies and practices are limited to residents who hold urban household registration status, unless indicated otherwise.

Background

Economically, China has transformed from a state-planned to a market economy since the early 1980s, and is now the second largest economy in the world after the United States. Just three decades ago, China was one of the poorest countries in the world with a GDP per capita of only US$156 in 1978; by 2015, it stood at US$8,069 (World Bank, 2016). With an average annual GDP per capita growth rate of more than 8 per cent over the last three decades, China has progressed from a deprived, low-income country to a middle-income developing country. During this same period, individual and family well-being substantially improved, with rapid economic growth lifting more than 800 million people out of poverty.