W OMEN AS P AID D OMESTIC W ORKERS AND P OLICY FOR D EVELOPMENT : C ASE OF C HINA AND I NDIA Jin Feng Fudan University Shanghai, China Feminist economics in China and India India International Centre, New Delhi, India Nov,

MAIN CONTENTS Supply of Paid Domestic Workers (PDW) in China Undervaluation and Discrimination to PDW in China PDW in India Possible Policies for Improving Their Welfare in Both Countries Feminist economics in China and India 2

S UPPLY OF PDW IN CHINA Labor market of PDW has been developing since the middle of 1980s. Up to 2012, there were more than 15 million domestic workers Female: Survey in Beijing: 85% ; in Shanghai, 98.7% Migrant: 87% (Shanghai) Low education : 44% under high school (Shanghai) Old: average age 44 (Shanghai) The vast majority of domestic workers in China are engaged in the low skilled job, in elder care, child care, food preparation, washing and cleaning, etc. 3 Feminist economics in China and India

WOMEN MIGRANT WORKERS IN CHINA 68% China's female population aged 15 and above participate in the labor force, compared to 58 %, 51%. Around 1/3 of China's millions of rural-urban migrant workers are women (34%, 2011) and they earn around a third less than their male equivalents Among female migrant workers, PDW are the most disadvantaged group. However, there is very few official information of migrants from gender perspective, such as women migrants’ occupation, industry, age, wage, etc. 4 Feminist economics in China and India

SOCIAL INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR MIGRANT WORKERS 5 Feminist economics in China and India Source: National Statistic Bureau of China, 2011 Low social insurance coverage, especially maternity insurance for migrant women

MINIMUM WAGE POLICY Keep increasing in China Not applicable to PDW Long working time; No holiday wage and overtime wage Some of workers know the minimum wage policy. However, they didn’t realize they may use this policy to bargain with their employers 6 Feminist economics in China and India

CURRENT REGULATION IN LABOR MARKET Feminist economics in China and India 7 There is a detailed occupational standard for PDW issued by Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MORSS) Some PDW have certain kind of certification, but most of them don’t have On the other hand, there is no clear obligations on agency and employer About 3000 agencies in Beijing in 2010 and 8000 agencies in Shanghai in 2011

U NDERVALUATION OF E LDER C ARE IN C HINA : R ELATIVE W AGE Predicted wage (Per Hour) Real wage Difference (RMB) Difference (%) Domestic workers ***-10.29*** Elder care workers ***-20.18*** Other domestic workers Feminist economics in China and India Source: Estimated using Domestic workers Survey of Shanghai (DWS) in 2007 and China household income Projects (CHIP) 2007, controlling human capital related characteristics of the workers

W HO ARE ELDER CARE WORKERS ? 9 Feminist economics in China and India Manufact ure workers Service workers Domestic workers of which Elder care workers Other domestic workers Average age(year) Female (%) Education (%) Illiteracy High school Original residence place Shanghai Zhejiang Jiangsu Anhui Other provinces

UNDERLYING DETERMINANTS Studies on occupational prestige in urban China show the least prestigious occupations are those service workers, like waiters and attendants, barbers, cleaners and housemaids. Housemaid ranks the lowest occupation among 50 types of occupations. Elder care is an even worse occupation by the view of domestic workers themselves Elder care workers are more likely from less developed regions and more likely accept a lower wage Employers of elder care are generally poorer than other households who hire domestic workers and their ability to pay is lower (30% lower in household income per capita) 10 Feminist economics in China and India

PDW IN I NDIA The number of female workers in informal sector in India has gone up considerably Wage of the female domestic workers are very low compared to other workers in the informal sector (Sarkar, 2005) General problems faced by the female domestic servants at work place: Not satisfied with their present wages Imposing extra work burden by employers Few employers have a tendency to deduct wage for absence in work Do not permit any extra leave Sexual harassment Most of the workers being less educated. The awareness to form a union is lacking 11 Feminist economics in China and India

P OLICY FOR F UTURE D EVELOPMENT : T RADE U NION Establishing trade union for PDW “The Women’s Federation” in China now is helping to settle disputes, but it is not an organization specializing in dealing with labor market issue and it is hard to provide effective protection to those workers. Raising the voice of workers. Increasing bargaining power in wage, working hour and social security Transforming social perceptions on PDW 12 Feminist economics in China and India

P OLICY FOR F UTURE D EVELOPMENT : G OVERNMENT S UBSIDY Subsidizing social insurance of PDW Subsidizing elder care user (long-term care ) Subsidizing wage of PDW Improving economic status helps to transform social perceptions 13 Feminist economics in China and India Contributio n rate % Social security Medical insurance Unemploy ment insurance Maternity insurance Injury insurance employer employee Current contribution rate of social insurance

P OLICY FOR F UTURE D EVELOPMENT : T RAINING PROGRAM Developing both private and public training programs (government subsidy, tax incentive, non-profit organizations) Increasing the quality of the training Improving the skill of PDW 14 Feminist economics in China and India

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