Maternity Insurance in China: Global Standards and Local Responses

China is one of the few countries in the world that has developed a separate maternity insurance scheme to protect women’s rights. Despite this pioneering practice, the issue of maternity insurance in China is under-researched. This article aims to shed light on this issue from a gender perspective and through the concept of “social globalization.” Based on in-depth documentary analysis of international treaties and conventions, as well as national laws, we find that although China has applied the overall framework of UN and ILO treaties and conventions on maternity insurance, its concrete regulations lag behind in terms of meeting international standards. For example, parental leave and paternity leave are not included in maternity insurance in China. Additionally, as only urban employees are covered by maternity insurance, it excludes the majority of Chinese women, including non-working urban women, informal female workers (e.g. migrant workers in cities), and rural women. In its implementation, the local practice of maternity protection in China shows a strong “disconnection” from both international standards and domestic laws, as evidenced by the low participation rate and employers’ non-compliance. We elaborate the major causes of local implementation deficits such as the informalization of female labor. In sum, Chinese gender-related social protection is still overshadowed by a conservative gender culture and remains backwards despite limited progress.