年二胎全面放开:产假及就业需政策保障

There will no longer be any legal obstacle to the implementation of a universal two-child policy, if the draft amendment to the family planning law is approved by the top legislature by Sunday.

如果计划生育法修正草案在星期日被中国最高立法机关批准，全面二孩政策的实施将不再会有任何法律障碍。

The proposed amendment, which is expected to come into force on Jan 1, contains a clause stipulating extended maternity leave and other welfare for couples having children. These are expected to boost the willingness of some couples to have a second child. Many couples have expressed reluctance to have a second child because of the high costs of bringing-up two children and the prejudice they anticipate from employers.

这项预计于2016年1月1日生效的修正案，包含一个子条款：为生二孩的夫妻延长生育假和其它福利。这些政策有望提高一些夫妻生二孩的意愿。然而，由于抚养两个孩子的成本会更高，并且女性生二胎还要担心公司老板会有看法，所以许多夫妇都表示不愿意再生。

How the longer maternity leave policy is implemented is up to local governments to decide. Specific and legally-binding measures should be worked out at the national level to ensure the policy is carried out and properly enforced to ensure that women are not discriminated against by employers obsessed with minimizing their labor costs.

延长的生育假如何落实往往由地方政府决定。国家层面应该颁布执行细则以及具备法律约束力的相关措施，以确保该政策的贯彻实施和合理执行，从而保证女性不因劳动成本最小化而受到雇主的歧视。

Surveys indicate that a majority of women suffer or have suffered gender prejudice when looking for a job, because employers do not want to grant maternity leave. To avoid possible gender discrimination from employers as a result of their entitlement to maternity leave and increase their employment competitiveness, some female job seekers have reportedly chosen to get married and have their children before graduating from universities.

调查显示，大多数女性在求职时正在或者已经因性别偏见受到影响，因为雇主不愿意提供产假。为了避免雇主因需要付产假津贴和提高就业竞争力可能带来的歧视，据报道，一些女性求职者选择在大学毕业前结婚生子。

To ease women's concerns following the implementation of the two-child policy, the country should put in place more explicit regulations banning discrimination against women. These could include requiring companies to have a certain percentage of female employees, as well as tax cuts or other preferential measures to encourage employers to effectively implement the extended maternity leave regulation for female workers.

随着二孩生育政策的出台，为了缓解女性的担忧，国家应明确规定禁止歧视女性，包括要求公司有一定比例的女员工以及减税或其他优惠措施，以鼓励雇主有效实施女职工产假延长的规定。