Maternity insurance key to promoting new family planning policy

China has loosened the family planning policy and decided to allow all couples to have two children. The aim, among others, is to increase the country's fertility rate in order to ease the pressure of the fast aging population. But the question is: Will the goal be fulfilled?

To start with, there is no specific regulation on maternity leave for women who want to have a second child. And since the social welfare insurance mechanism does not have any provision for maternity insurance, employers have to bear the entire cost of granting maternity leave, including salaries and insurance. This could prompt employers to overlook women when it comes to promotions and higher postings, which, in turn, could force women to not have a second child and sacrifice their careers.

Besides, since employers have to bear the cost of providing maternity leave not once but twice to women to promote the new family planning policy, they may refrain from recruiting and promoting women of child-bearing age even if they are qualified and experienced. This is certainly not what the new family planning policy is aimed at.