Women's right when to give birth

The timetable recently set by some employers for female staff to have children underscores the need for the authorities to take measures to protect women's rights.

Following the adoption of the national policy to universally allow all couples to have a second child, some employers have tried to prescribe when their female employees wanting to have a child can do so.

A company in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, Northeast China, for instance, recently told female job applicants that if hired they would have to submit an application a year in advance if they wanted to have children and they might have to be prepared to change their plans. It argued that it has no better way to prevent too many female employees from taking maternity leave at the same time.