Recently, the employment model of “Mom Stations” in mainland China has sparked intense controversy online, with more criticism than praise. Public opinion widely questions whether this policy aimed at alleviating the parenting and employment pressure on women can truly support mothers, or if it indirectly reinforces traditional gender role boundaries. Some firsthand witnesses and business managers have disclosed that from the disguised squeezing in large state-owned enterprises to cost considerations in private enterprises, the implementation of “Mom Stations” faces numerous obstacles and may become purely theoretical.
The Hubei Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, the Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, and the Provincial Women’s Federation jointly issued a notice on May 28 to promote the employment model of “Mom Stations,” igniting heated discussions.
Prior to this, Shanghai, Guangdong, Sichuan, Shandong, Harbin, and other places have successively experimented with “Mom Stations” by introducing relevant policies, yet disputes regarding the rationality and sustainability of the station’s establishment persist.
The so-called “Mom Stations” target women within the legal working age who need to care for children under 12 years old. These positions generally offer more flexible working hours and management styles to facilitate mothers in balancing childcare and work responsibilities.
In fact, “Mom Stations” highlight a deeply ingrained dilemma faced by women in the current traditional workplace structure and mindset.
According to a report by Caixin, a report released by Zhaopin in 2023 revealed that 61.1% of women were asked about their marital and childbirth status during the job application process, with 46.9% of women believing that marital status and childbirth significantly impact their career development, far exceeding the 11.4% of men.
In the Chinese workplace, inquiring about a woman’s marital and childbirth intentions has become an open secret. This pervasive hidden discrimination has made many young women concerned that once they marry and have children, they may be marginalized or even forced to give up their career development, leading some to choose not to have children.
Although various regions in China have issued policies explicitly prohibiting companies from asking female job candidates about their marital and childbirth status, there are concerns that such policies may lead companies to simply avoid hiring female candidates altogether.
Addressing this social paradox, one netizen succinctly pointed out: the workplace demands women not have children, while society hopes women have more children; after having children, they are expected to take care of the family as well as earn money, isn’t this contradictory?
Ironically, the plight of women in the workforce post-childbirth is even more challenging. A mother of two with a master’s degree once sent out nearly a hundred resumes, communicated over a thousand times, and ultimately could only secure positions such as a receptionist, telephone operator, or packer – roles that were vastly below her capabilities and experience.
Such predicaments are not isolated cases. A research team from Peking University published a study in 2024 showing that by the end of 2020, women with children under the age of 7 faced a 181% higher risk of unemployment than men, saw an 18.6% reduction in working hours, and had a monthly income 36.8% lower.
Low wages and a lack of promotion opportunities are also among the hurdles faced by “Mom Stations.” Netizens have commented that these positions come with many occupational restrictions, predominantly concentrated in low-skilled areas such as housekeeping and assembly lines, lacking avenues for career advancement, and generally offering salaries below market standards. For full-time mothers with higher education, finding positions that align with their expertise poses an even greater challenge.
Statistically, according to China News Weekly, in several provinces where lists of establishments hiring for “Mom Stations” have been released, almost one-third of businesses offer positions primarily in service roles like household and cleaning staff, with the majority of the remaining positions concentrated in areas like customer service and sewing.
Qingdao Aijia Company, a domestic service enterprise, as one of the first units in Qingdao to open “Mom Stations,” provides 190 positions primarily as hourly or part-time workers in fields such as catering, housekeeping, and security. While this may seem like an opportunity for mothers to find employment, the low ceiling and narrow development paths raise doubts about whether this limits their career possibilities.
Reportedly, the hourly wage for “Mom Stations” is only 65% to 80% of conventional positions, with some regions offering as low as 11 yuan per hour, and over 80% of these positions do not contribute to social security.
One netizen shared that she quickly resigned after trying out a “Mom Station” job, as the monthly salary was 4,500 yuan, without social security or provident fund benefits. She initially thought she would only need to work 3 to 4 hours per day, but after a few months, she was treated as a “jack of all trades.” To pick up her kids on time, she had to work tirelessly.
Ensuring labor rights protection is a key concern for many netizens. Some worry that companies may replace regular positions with “Mom Stations” to lower labor costs, shrinking employment opportunities and creating a vicious cycle of “Mom Stations squeezing out regular positions.” Some netizens believe that “Mom Stations” mostly offer non-full-time positions, and rights protection in terms of social insurance and labor dispute resolution remains to be improved.
The person in charge of Aijia Company revealed that within less than a month of opening positions, they received over 200 inquiry calls but found the recruitment results less than satisfactory. Eventually, the company only hired 2 people, a far cry from the initial target of 100 hires.
In November 2024, Harbin City in Heilongjiang Province released a notice on promoting the employment model of “Mom Stations.” A staff member from the city’s Human Resources and Social Security Bureau stated that over 300 companies have opened more than 3,000 “Mom Station” positions, primarily in temporary labor, domestic service, and real estate agency sectors. While 82 eligible women have reached preliminary employment intentions with companies, these positions mainly entail temporary work.
The more pressing issue is that even if some mothers are willing to accept such arrangements, companies may not be willing to cooperate. A business manager disclosed to China News Weekly that if a financial position is held by a full-time mother, additional staff may be required to cover the flexibility in working hours and leave requests, potentially leading to a 30% increase in labor costs.
Given the current economic downturn, many companies lack the incentive to establish “Mom Stations” without sufficient financial subsidies, making this policy potentially just a mere formality.
The general manager of a building materials company in Foshan, Guangdong, a 39-year-old named Liang, expressed, “Once ‘Mom Stations’ are introduced, our company’s labor costs will significantly rise.”
In recent years, the company has reduced its staff size by nearly half.
Liang admitted that if they were to establish “Mom Stations,” for example, for finance positions in terms of company finances, with work hours from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, two days off per month, the annual per capita labor cost would be around 80,000 yuan. If converted into “Mom Stations,” more requirements for flexible working hours and additional employment to cover missing staff would lead to a 30% increase in annual per capita labor costs. Liang bluntly stated, “Companies are reducing costs now, so how is that possible?”
Blogger “Nee Gentleman” recently mentioned leaving her job. The two state-owned enterprises where she had worked were known “Mom Station” hubs, with over 70% female employees. The companies emphasized low salaries, minimal workload, and no clocking in/out.
She explained that at the age of thirty, she applied to both companies considering that although the pay was low, the management was more humane, allowing for telecommuting. However, after she joined, she nearly felt driven to infertility by the company.
She further narrated that both companies started layoffs a year after her employment, and mothers were hit the hardest. The method was simple – monitoring attendance. Salaries were fixed upon hiring, but attendance policies could be changed at any time. Many mothers who were attracted by the lack of clocking in/out were forced to resign because the constant monitoring made it impossible to balance work and home life.
She recounted being suddenly assigned to work in Shanghai by the company, yet she did not work any shifts regularly, received only a few thousand yuan in salary, which was insufficient to afford rent in Shanghai. Refusing to go to Shanghai, her leaders began maliciously messaging her, picking at her faults. Eventually, she had to resign.
She concluded that in the current unfavorable environment, companies feel they no longer need you, claiming that the so-called “Mom Stations” are not genuinely female-friendly but instead focused on reducing wages. Flexible work arrangements mean flexible treatment; employee benefits can quickly become grounds for dismissal.
She lamented that even as a large state-owned enterprise with complete benefits, the company used every means possible against female employees for cost-cutting and efficiency enhancement. It’s easy to imagine what kind of true protection private enterprises can offer employees in “Mom Stations.”
She also noted that the disclosed salaries for some “Mom Station” positions were essentially half of what she earned in the aforementioned state-owned enterprises.