While most working mothers felt that having children had a negative effect on their career, a vast majority of companies approved of their performance in the workplace, a survey by the Chinese-language magazine Parenting (親子天下) released on Tuesday showed.
The poll surveyed the heads of human resources departments at 2,000 companies and more than 6,000 mothers who are either housewives, working moms or on parental leave.
The poll found that 54 percent of mothers said that having children had held them back at work, while 87 percent of companies praised working moms as steady performers.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Zoo
In addition, 66 percent of companies polled said mothers are better team workers, and 64 percent said mothers care about their position and salary.
About 95 percent of companies said they would approve mothers’ requests for leave, as they believe that mothers would perform better if they were allowed to take better care of their families, the survey found.
Meanwhile, 97 percent of employers are in favor of mothers taking parental leave, while nearly 60 percent of companies said that they would have trouble coping with staff shortages if parental leave lasted more than a year, it showed.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
More than 50 percent of companies said that parental leave often lasts more than six months, while 75 percent of companies said that they do not have workers to fill in for employees on parental leave, it showed.
More than 90 percent of companies also said that they welcomed fathers taking parental leave, but would be inclined to demote them or reduce their salary if they did so.
Nearly 80 percent of companies said they would likely not postpone promotions for mothers or delay giving them raises, while more than 80 percent said they would prefer that parents not take their children to the workplace.
Overall, companies are willing to abide by the law governing parental and maternity leave, but few are willing to go the extra mile to introduce more creative and flexible solutions, the survey found.
The magazine suggested three actions to support mothers.
First, mothers should be able to balance the time and energy spent on taking care of their families and themselves.
Second, the division of labor between mothers and fathers regarding chores and children’s upbringing should be decided through discussions instead of the salaries they earn.
Third, employers should be committed to introducing flexible work conditions for mothers.
By granting parents leeway in their work hours, they would be able to adjust their hours to better match children’s school hours, the magazine said.
This way, parents could go to work without worries and become more focused, it said.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS