Caught in the rat race

Working women all around the world are faced with the same basic dilemma of how to strike a balance between their professional and family lives. In China, where labor laws are not always enforced to a T and working days can be very long, women have a particularly tough time finding the optimal solution to this problem.

Beijing-based China Radio International is one of China's biggest broadcasters. It boasts about 40 different foreign language departments, with hundreds of employees making daily programs on the latest trends and events in China. The vice director of the French department, Yang Xiaolan, Nathalie Yang by her French name, told Radio86 about the challenges faced by working mothers in today's China.

With the growth of China's economy, women's contribution to the society outside the home has gained new meaning. Today, Chinese men and women enjoy a high degree of equality in terms of their salaries, although household work still largely rests on the shoulders of the women, Yang says.

"I think that today, the situation of women in the Chinese society is quite favorable. When talking about gender equality, women hold the same rights to work and advance in their careers as men, but of course we are still waiting for a time when equality between the sexes would be 100 percent. That would of course be the ideal situation, but as for now, it remains a dream. The life of a Chinese woman is not easy -- you have to be able to balance your family, work and social life. Married women especially really have to struggle to manage their careers and daily routines at home."

As living standards in China continue to rise, competition on the job market gets more and more fierce. Nowadays, it would be almost impossible for a family to get by on just one person's salary, Yang says.

"To tell the truth, it's very difficult to support a family on just one salary, for example, if the woman stays at home and the man works all his life to support his family. It's not possible because, especially here in Beijing or Shanghai, or in other big cities, life is quite expensive. The average salary of maybe about 1,000 euros is definitely not enough to support an entire family."

In many countries, and in northern Europe especially, families are encouraged to have children by offering special allowances and other incentives, such as the possibility to work shorter days, but what is the case in a country where population growth does not count among the government's top priorities?

"Well, a woman who has a child to take care of does not have the possibility to work shorter days. The same with the men. So, working women are under a lot of stress. In addition, at home, it's predominantly the women who take care of the chores. As you know, in China, we implement the national family planning policy, which is why most families only have one child. The government does grant some small one-time subsidies to families to cover some expenses related to caring for their child, but this is only consists of maybe a couple hundred yuan in one year, so they are definitely not paid on a regular basis. So, no, there isn't any type of monthly family allowance system in China."

The circle of life

According to the Chinese law, a new mother can stay at home for at least six months after giving birth. The father also has the right to one month of paternity leave, but if he does not use it, the woman will get one month's extension to her maternity leave, Yang says. Job security is also good, at least in the major cities.

"It depends on the situation, and the company in question. If a woman holds a steady job, especially in the public sector, she does not have to worry about getting fired after having a baby. As for people working in the more liberal sectors, I'm not sure. Migrant workers who come from the countryside to work in the city face a slightly more complicated situation... As yet, there is no comprehensive social security system that would completely cover this issue."

According to an old saying, it takes a village to raise a child. While most urban people no longer enjoy the support of an extensive family network, in China, it is still customary for the grandparents to play a big part in the upbringing of their grandchildren. Still, naturally it is still the mother who carries the greatest responsibility for rearing the child, but the men are gradually assuming a more active role in the family, according to Yang.

"That varies a lot depending on the person. If the man of the family is an entrepreneur, he usually works very long days and has less time to spend with the family, which is my case. But when he does have time off from work, he does spend most of it with his family," Yang says.

Urban children in China are generally trusted in the care of outside childcare professionals from a young age. Before that, it is usually the grandparents who look after him or her while the parents are at work.

"The preschool and daycare system works very well here. Some families put their babies in daycare from the age of six months, but most families don't do that because it is their only child, so most call on the grandparents from both sides to come and help out. Some people do what I did and hire nannies or babysitters to take care of the baby 24 hours a day. From the age of two-and-a-half or three, children can be enrolled in preschool full time."

A child-centered society

In China, families with children benefit from comprehensive public health care services.

"After the birth of a child, he or she undergoes regular health checks. All the children who are born legally are covered by the public health insurance. Just recently, Beijing municipality approved a new regulation which gives every child here in the capital access to public welfare services. So, most of the children in China benefit from good social security, but in the countryside, the situation varies. The government is just now starting to adopt new measures to develop the social security system in the rural areas, so bit by bit, children in the countryside will also be covered by the system," Yang says.

China has made significant investments in the country's school system. (Image: Radio86)All parents know how difficult it is to raise a child and how hard it can be to control their behavior. In many countries in the west, it is unlawful to physically punish a child, no matter what the situation may be. In this case, Chinese legislation lags far behind.

"That's something to think about, because in China, the situation is very different from that of countries in Europe or the US, for example. In China, most children do not have any siblings, so they are quite spoiled by the grandparents. Slapping a child who is misbehaving is not illegal in China. Nevertheless, only children tend to get away with things more easily than they would if they had siblings, but when they go to school, they learn the acceptable code of conduct. But still, the way in which grandparents spoil their grandchildren is really a problem in China," Yang emphasizes.

As people's wealth grows, more and more parents want to enroll their children in the best schools, and even pay for private tutoring in, for example, languages, well before school age. The Chinese school system has been revamped over the last few years, but still more needs to be done, Yang says.

"The education system is being reformed as we speak. Earlier, the best schools were located far from the most popular residential areas. Since Beijing is such a huge city, it took parents much time and effort to take children to these schools. Now, the city is establishing more and more schools in residential areas in order to reduce traffic congestion and so on. But still a lot remains to be done, because Beijing is just so popular right now, and its population is so huge," she says.

Supporting parents in their important task

In China, there are no public counseling services available to parents in need of some guidance in their important task of raising the country's youngest citizens.

"Not really no, because there are just too many people here. However, in some neighborhoods, there are special committees that offer guidance on childcare. Then there are of course internet websites and non-governmental organizations that offer advice on different issues, but these types of associations are not affiliated with the government," Yang explains.

When Beijing parents do get the chance to spend time together with their children, what count among their favorite family activities?

The Chinese society caters to small children. (Image: Radio86)"There are many things to do here. We have really nice parks and stores, toy stores in particular... then there are movie theaters and children's theaters, and libraries for children etc. In China, children really are pampered, not just by their parents and grandparents, but also by the entire society. Great attention is paid to matters that concern children's wellbeing. Then there are of course those parents who wish to secure their children's financial future, so they take them to English classes from the age of perhaps two. We have huge numbers of schools and institutes offering English courses to children. This can be good, but sometimes it can also have negative effects, because it is very demanding, considering that the children are between 3 and 6 years of age. But when you take into account the toughening competition on the job market, parents just want to give their children the best opportunities to succeed. But this is one problem," Yang says.

And should this working mother sometime be able to steal a moment for herself, what would she like to do?

"I really wish I has some time just for myself! If I did, I would probably go to the theater or the movies. My son is already six years old, and in all that time, I haven't had the time to go to the movies, the theater or any concerts, because I have a very demanding job, and I also have to sometimes take care of my parents. But I would love to go out, or travel a bit, especially inside China, because there are a lot of places here I still haven't been to. I would also like to travel to other countries, which is becoming easier and more popular all the time. This is a clear change from about ten years ago, when you couldn't almost even imagine traveling to other countries. Nowadays, Chinese people prefer to spend most major holidays abroad, even the Spring Festival, which is one of the most family-centered holidays when people traditionally stay at home. This is also due to a rise in people's living standards, so now, whenever people manage to save up a little of money, they travel abroad in order to learn a bit more about foreign cultures."