The government yesterday began fully subsidizing an additional six days of paid marriage leave, extending it from eight days to 14. The Ministry of Labor’s Guidelines for Wage Subsidies for Marriage, Maternity and Paternity Leave under the Family-Friendly Workplace Program (友善育兒職場婚孕產假薪資補助要點) are part of an 18-point population strategy President William Lai (賴清德) announced earlier this year, aimed primarily at addressing the nation’s falling birthrate, which declined for the 32nd consecutive month in August. However, the government’s proposed measures drew criticism from civic groups this week, who said that some could inadvertently reinforce gender inequality in the workplace. Specifically, a proposal to extend maternity leave from eight weeks to 12 and marriage leave from seven days to 14 has been met with particular scrutiny. The vast difference between the two types of leave would disadvantage female workers and deepen workplace discrimination, the groups said.
A study from Brazil cited by the Childcare Policy Alliance found that after maternity leave was extended without a corresponding increase in paternity leave, women’s overall promotion rate fell by 17 percent, their average income decreased by 3.5 percent and the proportion of women in high positions dropped by 5 percent. Meanwhile, the promotion rate for men increased from 3.35 percent to 6.23 percent. Extending maternity leave without raising paternity leave could encourage employers to discriminate against women, because of the costs associated with the leave, the association said. There is reason to expect this would happen, given that Taiwan already has significant gender disparities in the workplace. After having a child, Taiwanese women work 8.7 fewer hours per week on average and their monthly income falls by nearly NT$9,000, reflecting a familiar pattern in which motherhood carries a much greater professional cost than fatherhood, a National Chengchi University study found. However, there is another side to this issue that cannot be addressed simply by making leave equal for parents. Women have historically taken more parental leave, not necessarily because the system forces them to do so, but because they continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of childcare and household responsibilities. Women living with a spouse or partner spend an average 4.41 hours a day on unpaid care, 2.6 times the 1.72 hours spent by their partners, a Ministry of Health and Welfare survey found in 2024. That disparity matters, especially when discussing why young people — specifically young women — are increasingly hesitant to have children. Equal leave might help reduce the career penalties associated with motherhood, but it would not by itself address the unequal division of domestic responsibilities. For many young women, concerns about having children are not limited to the length of maternity or paternity leave. They must also consider that doing so would mean sacrificing their current lifestyle to permanently take on significantly more domestic responsibilities while facing expectations to maintain their careers. This represents a much more complex hurdle for the nation’s population strategy. Marriage leave and parental leave would undoubtedly ease some of the burden faced by young couples who plan to have children, but the nation’s low birthrate is a result of more than just married couples being unable to afford a child. Most married Taiwanese couples have children, but the proportion of people who marry has decreased significantly over the past few years. If young people perceive marriage and parenthood as having to surrender autonomy, career opportunities or an equal division of domestic responsibilities, additional leave would likely do little to change their minds. The government’s new measures highlight a distinction that is easy to overlook: Making workplaces more family-friendly is only part of the equation; much of parenthood pressures begin at home. Equal maternity and paternity leave might address part of the structural imbalance between working men and women who choose to have children. However, the deeper challenge lies in fundamentally shifting cultural expectations surrounding parental roles and the sharing of domestic responsibilities. Taiwan’s demographic problem would not be solved by extending marriage and parental leave alone. If the government wants to address the birthrate, it must develop a population strategy capable not only of making parenthood more feasible, but also of changing the societal expectations that make marriage and parenthood increasingly difficult to reconcile with personal autonomy, career ambitions and a fair division of domestic responsibilities.