China's manufacturing hub tailors posts for working moms

Yang Shaoren shifted to the "mother post" after getting pregnant, and now she is among the staffers trained to help the factory meet urgent needs. "I am capable of all kinds of jobs in the workshop. The factory does not need to worry when working moms have a day off."

Some companies doubt that such a flexible work schedule for females can ensure the successful delivery of products, especially when the factory gets swamped with orders. But Yu disagrees due to simple facts.

Monitoring data have shown that the mothers' 8-hour work can produce the same capacity as the 10-hour efforts of other workers, and the products they make suggest a higher quality. Therefore, the production task of high-end products goes to the "mother workshops," said Yu.

"It is just a tiny adjustment, but it brings the company huge profits. With stable staff inflow and sufficient production capacity amid the COVID-19 epidemic, the working moms can do valuable orders for our company." Yu called the "mother posts" a "win-win" deal.

Another local company, Zhongshan Zhiniu Electronic Co., Ltd., launched "mother posts" in 2016. Now, 86 percent of its workshop staff are mothers.

Job fairs targeting mothers have taken place in Zhongshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, to follow the "she-power" trend. Job opportunities covering clerks, sales, customer services, and the like are offered. More than 2,000 "mother posts" have been provided by the municipal government, helping over 500 women land jobs.

"It is well-received among the employees. It helps tackle the labor shortage of some enterprises, and more companies are turning their eyes to the novel posts," said Li Yongyu with the city's personnel management office.

Yu believes that as China rolls out supporting policies to encourage childbirth, an increasing number of families with more than one child will emerge.

"The "mother post" is the manufacturing enterprises' latest response to the inevitable trend. More and more jobs with flexible work schedules will likely be adopted in the future," Yu added.