Denied benefits, Chinese single moms press for change

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Sarah Gao had a busy job. As the head of a 500 million yuan ($76.8 million) investment fund, she was constantly flying across China on business trips. Then she found out she was pregnant.

Her pregnancy, with her then-boyfriend, was unplanned. But Gao, who was 40, thought she wouldn’t have any more chances, and decided to keep the baby. What she did not realize was how that decision would lead to a nearly four-year legal battle for her maternity benefits.

Her protracted fight highlights the consequences that Chinese women face when they raise a child outside of a marriage. The vast majority are unable to access public benefits, ranging from paid maternity leave to prenatal exam coverage, because their status is in a legal gray zone. Some may even face fines.

Gao and some other single mothers want to change this. They are part of a small group, organized by Advocates for Diverse Family Network, that petitioned the Legal Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress at its recently concluded annual meeting. They don’t expect immediate action, but they hope their needs will be reflected in the legislative agenda in the future.

China’s population is rapidly aging, and the government is eager to promote higher birthrates, relaxing restrictive family planning laws in 2015 so that each family can have two kids. Yet, the laws have not changed as quickly with regards to single parents.

There are no official statistics on the number of single-parent households in China, but a National Health Commission survey in 2014 estimated that there would be nearly 20 million single mothers by 2020. Many of them come from divorce, with divorce rates in the country nearly doubling from 2009 to 2018, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Following a difficult pregnancy, Gao gave birth to her daughter in November 2016. She went back to work after seven months of sick leave and maternity leave. Throughout her sick leave, her company, KunYuan Asset Management, paid her the bare minimum: roughly 1,000 yuan ($153) a month, a huge drop from her usual monthly salary of 30,000 yuan ($4,606). The company did not pay her during maternity leave.

Gao pressed the company for full salary and maternity leave benefits, part of which would come from the social insurance to which companies contribute by law.

In Beijing, where Gao lives, an employee can apply for those public benefits only through their company. But Gao’s company refused to apply for her, saying her materials were incomplete because she lacked a marriage license.

When she forced the issue, the company asked her to resign. Gao refused to quit at first, but eventually she was fired. However, the company refused to issue her a formal letter that would acknowledge her departure, making it difficult for her to find a new job.

The company did not respond to requests for comment via email, and phone calls to the head office in Beijing went unanswered.