The current fertility policy continues to change, and the situation of women of childbearing age in the workplace has aroused great concern. People are thinking about whether taking on family responsibilities will make them unfairly treated when applying for jobs. This issue really needs our in-depth research and discussion.

He Haoran, Xin Li and Yulin Han (all master students) seized the policy opportunity and devoted themselves to exploring the underlying causes of employment discrimination.

From 2014 to 2015, the "two-child policy" was implemented, and there were differences in childbearing groups. In 2016, the “universal two-child” policy changed. To this end, the research team conducted two rounds of communication audit field experiments on a large Internet recruitment platform. Through these experiments, they hoped to observe the correlation between women of childbearing age's expectations of family responsibilities and employment discrimination.

This idea of ​​conducting experiments closely following policy changes makes the research highly realistic.

Collecting information through recruitment platforms can be as close to the real labor market conditions as possible, thus laying a solid foundation for the accuracy of research results.

Targeting job seekers aged 22 to 29, researchers placed 8,848 fictitious job resumes.

Using a 2×2 experimental plan, we divided job seekers into four categories: female only children, male only children, female non-only children, and male non-only children.

After careful planning, we are able to comprehensively compare the performance of male and female job seekers in the workplace and accurately identify the specific impact of family responsibilities on female employment, thereby providing detailed and scientific data basis for subsequent research.

After obtaining the experimental data, the author used a variety of analysis methods such as cross-sectional double differences, intertemporal double differences, and triple differences.

These methods can mine data value from different angles and comprehensively evaluate experimental results.

The comprehensive use of multiple analysis methods can effectively reduce the bias caused by a single method, thereby making the research results more rigorous and reliable.

Furthermore, different differencing techniques can be adapted to suit data characteristics and research requirements. They can delve into the intricate underlying mechanisms behind employment discrimination.

Data shows that family obligations related to childcare may reduce a female candidate's chances of receiving an invitation to interview, suggesting that employers may be biased based on this factor.

Men were not affected in this way, and the difference was obvious.

The sample showed bias was more pronounced among older female job applicants. This suggests that as women age, especially at or beyond their prime childbearing years, the discrimination they experience due to expected family responsibilities becomes more severe. This phenomenon highlights the critical role of age in employment discrimination.

The reason why employers have such a bias may be because they are worried that the implementation of the comprehensive two-child policy will make older women of childbearing age quickly express their previously suppressed desire to have children.

Employers consider their own costs and benefits and are not inclined to hire female workers who may need to take maternity leave or take care of the family.

This mentality is more common in the labor market. It reveals employers' risk-avoidance mentality in the face of policy changes. However, this mentality also harms the employment rights of women of childbearing age. At the same time, it has adversely affected fair competition in the job market and the reasonable distribution of talents.

This study provides an in-depth analysis of the effects and response strategies of the relaxation of my country's fertility policy and incentive measures, providing valuable basis for relevant decision-making.

If there are no corresponding measures to ensure the employment of women of working age, relaxing the fertility policy may cause more prejudice against women of working age in the labor market, thus hindering the achievement of the goals of the fertility policy.

The research not only shows this possibility, but also reminds the government and society to pay attention to this issue.

The government needs to formulate employment protection measures, and companies also need to fulfill their social responsibilities. Both parties should work together to create a fair employment atmosphere and ensure that the rights and interests of women of working age are safeguarded.

What specific strategies do you think the country should implement to ensure fair employment opportunities for women of working age in the workplace?