Under pressure, China's women opting for more flexible jobs
By Zhang Shixuan
04:33

Twenty-three-year-old stall owner Xing Bao became a full-time vendor on the e-commerce platform Xiang Dian last month, right after she quit her job on an Internet company's operations staff.

Her days now are filled with designing promotion posters, picking the right products for her clients on social media and dealing with after-sales service. She no longer has fixed working hours, but she's making a lot more money.

"In the past, I paid more attention to the distance between home and work when finding a job. But now I'm focusing on more income and less work. This job allows me to work anytime I want - more hours or fewer, it's more free," Xing told CGTN.

Working women worldwide have been facing increasing challenges from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Consulting firm McKinsey's annual report on Women in the Workplace says that the pandemic has intensified challenges that women already faced in US companies, with as many as 2 million women considering leaving the workforce. In Japan, on the other hand, more than 44% of employees in June were women. That's the first time the country has had more than 30 million women working since 1953.

How is the situation with women's jobs in China changing?

In China, Some women have chosen to start their own businesses to have a more flexible workload. Many others have jumped to the flexible labor market to better handle their personal demands and alleviate their work pressure.

Xing now earns between 40,000 and 50,000 yuan ( about $6,000-7,500) a month, a lot more than the 7,000 yuan she made in her previous job with the internet company.

Xing is now part of some 2 million people who have online "stalls" on Xiang Dian, and more than 90 percent of them are women. This year alone, the platform has taken on nearly 500,000 new vendors.

Women earning more from flexible work

Some women have chosen to start their own businesses to have a more flexible workload. Many others have jumped to the flexible labor market to better handle their personal demands and alleviate their work pressure.

One Shanghai-based flexible labor service provider, Duliday, now has 30 million candidates in its talent pool, and 55 percent of them are women, that's 10 percent more than before the COVID-19 outbreak.

Most of the candidates are looking for one or two part-time jobs, such as online customer service experts, retail shopping guides, or product distributors.

Some women say they have already reduced their hours at their full-time jobs, so they've got more time for a flexible job. Some lawyers and doctors are now using their leisure time to do e-commerce. So are some bank accountants and legal consultants, according to Yang Xiaoqi, senior vice president, Duliday.

"And if they take two part-time jobs, their income could be more than that of their full-time jobs. Because of the higher demand for flexible workers this year, salaries have jumped 20 percent, up to 30 or 50 yuan an hour," she said.

Virus outbreak disrupted work

Many of the reasons people give for looking at flexi-time jobs are related to economic changes brought about by the virus outbreak. Many parents are facing a hard time coping.

"I'm now working 8 or 9 hours a day, the same as before the outbreak. But my salary has dropped by 10 percent," said one Miss Wu, mother to one-year-old Child.

Another parent, Mister Sun, father of a six-year-old, said that the children's requirements also change the parents' work hours.

"My wife is a general manager's assistant at a trading firm. During the outbreak, our child needed to take online courses, which required parents to accompany them. She now works 5 or 6 hours a day, while previously, she had to work 8 or 9 hours a day. She says she's just not that busy," said Sun.

Michael Page: No difference in pay for women seen

Recruitment firm Michael Page said that during COVID-19, the whole employment market has been changing with some changes in candidate requirements, but added that there had been no significant changes in pay or job titles among women employees in China.

"There's no variance between male or female. However, for female professionals, due to the time and commitment to their family life, there might be limitations.

"For example, this year, lots of female professionals need to donate time to their kids for online learning, which might create barriers for their time commitment to work. Females will put flexible working and work-life balance as a higher priority due to their responsibility as family care," said Yuki Chen, regional director at Michael Page.

Chen added that industries that have always had plenty of women employees like services, leisure, hospitality, and retail, as well as sectors like finance, Human Resources, and Administration, are now seeing more women take on flexible time jobs.