Spillover of Female Labor Protection: Evidence from China

This study examines the gendered consequences of China’s 2012 Female Labor Protection Policy (FLP), introduced to enhance workplace protections through extended maternity leave, standardized allowances, job restrictions, and penalties for non-compliant employers. Using a triple-differences (DDD) identification strategy and data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we separate the effects of the FLP from contemporaneous family-planning reforms. Although the FLP aimed to improve women’s work–life balance, our findings reveal large wage penalties that fall disproportionately on women—especially older female workers—rather than being confined to those of childbearing age. We find no evidence that the policy increases women’s labor force participation or fertility. These results suggest that well-intentioned gender-focused labor regulations can generate unintended adverse consequences, reinforcing workplace inequality and exacerbating the motherhood penalty. Our study contributes to feminist analyses of labor regulation by highlighting how protective legislation can inadvertently strengthen age- and gender-based wage biases.