China In Context

How do women in China feel about the state deciding how many children they should have?

March 02, 2021 SOAS China Institute Season 1 Episode 4
China In Context
How do women in China feel about the state deciding how many children they should have?
Show Notes

It is an expensive choice to have children in China, especially in big cities. Most parents struggle to afford child care and only a few employers do much to support the careers of working mothers. A new term has been coined to describe women’s challenges: the “motherhood penalty” (生育惩罚 shēngyùchéngfá). In this podcast, Dr Jieyu Liu, Deputy Director of the SOAS China Institute, explains why anxiety over the cost of parenting is having a huge impact on the birthrate and on China’s demographics. The host is Duncan Bartlett, Editor of Asian Affairs magazine.

China In Context: Episode 4 
First broadcast 2nd March, 2021