Tomorrow the child is due to be born, yet the husband cannot be present for the birth, the infuriating reason being...

Tomorrow is the annual International Women's Day, also known as March 8th or Women's Day, a festival for women worldwide to strive for peace, equality, and development. Women's Day 2019 falls on March 8, 2019, a Friday, the second day of the second lunar month, and it is the 109th Women's Day. The full name of "March 8th" International Women's Day is "United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace," established on March 8 each year to celebrate women's significant contributions and achievements in economic, political, and social fields. It also commemorates the over 140 female workers who died in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York.

In December 1949, the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government of China designated March 8 as Women's Day. According to Article 3 of the "Measures for Holidays and Memorial Days for National Festivals" (State Council Order No. 270) issued by the State Council of China, Women's Day (March 8) is a holiday and memorial day for partial citizens, with women having a half-day off.

The establishment of "March 8th" International Women's Day accompanied the development of the women's liberation movement. In today's world, women's status has significantly improved, and women are increasingly playing greater roles in politics, economy, culture, and society. However, the international community's efforts to seek gender equality are far from over. Currently, some countries still have many laws that explicitly discriminate against women, and in some countries, women do not enjoy equal rights with men in terms of job security, salary treatment, and education. Therefore, achieving gender equality remains a long-term task for the international community.

Recently, a report related to women's rights was published. A survey on "Women's Career Opportunities" released by the professional networking platform LinkedIn on the 5th shows that 35% of men have no paternity leave, or they voluntarily give up full paternity leave for work. Lack of family support is the biggest obstacle to equal career opportunities for both genders. Inequality faced by women in career opportunities and career development is widespread, with issues such as marriage and childbirth frequently raised during women's job searches and promotions.
 

This year's government work report proposed resolutely preventing and correcting gender and identity discrimination in employment. Nine departments, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, recently issued a "Notice on Further Regulating Recruitment Practices to Promote Women's Employment," explicitly requiring that women's marital and childbearing status not be inquired about, and that restricting childbirth not be used as a condition for employment. Is paternity leave for men necessary? The answer to this question is obvious. Data shows that 96% of women believe paternity leave for men is very important. On one hand, it helps men share women's family pressures; on the other hand, paternity leave helps reduce inequality in employment opportunities between genders.

Marriage and childbirth are often the main factors leading to employment discrimination against women. The lack of men's role in the family forces women to invest more energy in family responsibilities, thus preventing them from equally pursuing career opportunities and achieving their own career development.
 

However, current labor laws and related regulations do not explicitly stipulate paternity leave. Specific provisions depend on the actual regulations of each province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the central government, and are mostly found in local family planning regulations, with a low legal status. Of course, there are also cases where some places have paternity leave while others do not. Zhiming lawyers provide a detailed summary for you:

　　2019 Paternity Leave Regulations by Region

　　Beijing: 15 days of paternity leave Article 18 of Beijing's new family planning regulations stipulates that female employees of government agencies, enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, and other entities who give birth in accordance with regulations are entitled to 30 days of maternity reward leave in addition to the statutory maternity leave, and their spouses are entitled to 15 days of paternity leave. During the leave period of female employees and their spouses, government agencies, enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, and other entities shall not reduce their wages, dismiss them, or terminate their labor or employment contracts.

　　Shanghai paternity leave is 10 days. Article 31 of Shanghai's new family planning regulations stipulates that citizens who marry in accordance with the law are entitled to an additional 7 days of marriage leave on top of the statutory marriage leave. For couples who give birth in accordance with laws and regulations, the wife is entitled to an additional 30 days of maternity leave on top of the statutory maternity leave, and the husband is entitled to 10 days of paternity leave. Maternity leave enjoys the same treatment as statutory maternity leave, and wages during the paternity leave period shall be paid according to the wages due for normal attendance.

　　Guangdong paternity leave is 15 days. Article 31 of Guangdong's new family planning regulations stipulates that couples who give birth to children in accordance with laws and regulations are entitled to 30 days of reward leave for the wife and 15 days of paternity leave for the husband. Wages shall be paid as usual during the prescribed leave periods, without affecting welfare benefits or full-attendance awards.

　　Guangxi paternity leave is 25 days. Article 25 of Guangxi's new family planning regulations stipulates that couples who give birth in accordance with laws and regulations are entitled to an additional 50 days of maternity leave for the woman and 25 days of paternity leave for the man, in addition to the statutory holidays. During the leave period, the employer shall not deduct wages, subsidies, allowances, or bonuses.

　　Ningxia paternity leave: 25 days. Article 37 of Ningxia's new family planning regulations stipulates that women who give birth in accordance with laws and regulations are entitled to an additional 60 days of maternity leave on top of the statutory maternity leave, and their spouses are granted 25 days of paternity leave. Maternity and paternity leave are considered as attendance, with wages and bonuses paid as usual.

　　Shanxi paternity leave: 15 days. Article 25 of Shanxi's new family planning regulations stipulates that couples who legally register for marriage are entitled to 30 days of marriage leave. For those who give birth in accordance with these regulations, women receive an additional 60 days of maternity leave on top of the statutory and provincial maternity leave, and men receive 15 days of paternity leave. During marriage, maternity, and paternity leave, they enjoy the same benefits as on-duty employees.

　　Jiangxi paternity leave: 15 days. Article 43 of Jiangxi's new family planning regulation stipulates that couples who give birth in accordance with the law, administrative regulations, and this regulation are entitled to an additional 60 days of maternity leave beyond the national statutory leave, and the husband is granted 15 days of paternity leave. Wages and bonuses during the leave period are paid as usual, and welfare benefits remain unchanged.

　　Hubei paternity leave is 15 days. Article 33 of Hubei's new family planning regulation stipulates that for women who give birth in accordance with the law and regulations, in addition to the national statutory maternity leave, an additional 30 days of maternity leave is granted, and their spouse is given 15 days of paternity leave; maternity leave and paternity leave are considered as attendance, with wages and bonuses paid as usual.

　　Zhejiang paternity leave is 15 days. Article 30 of Zhejiang's new family planning regulation stipulates that couples who give birth to children in accordance with the law and regulations after January 1, 2017, are entitled to the following benefits: (1) After the statutory maternity leave for the woman expires, she receives an additional 30 days of reward leave, which does not affect promotion or salary adjustment and counts toward seniority; employers may provide other preferential treatment based on specific circumstances; (2) The husband enjoys 15 days of paternity leave, with wages, bonuses, and other welfare benefits paid as usual.

　　Anhui paternity leave is 10 days. Article 37 of Anhui's new family planning regulations stipulates that for couples who have children in accordance with these regulations, state organs, social organizations, enterprises, and institutions shall grant the following rewards: (1) In addition to the statutory maternity leave, the female party shall be granted an extension of sixty days of maternity leave; (2) The male party shall be entitled to ten days of paternity leave; if the couple lives apart, the paternity leave shall be twenty days. During the maternity leave and paternity leave specified in the preceding paragraph, employees shall receive their wages, bonuses, and benefits as if they were on duty.

　　Tianjin paternity leave is 7 days. Article 22 of Tianjin's new family planning regulations stipulates that for couples who have children in accordance with laws and regulations, the male party's employer shall grant seven days of paternity leave, and the female party's employer shall grant an additional thirty days of maternity leave; if the maternity leave cannot be extended, a reward of one month's basic salary or actual wages shall be given. Those participating in maternity insurance shall follow the provisions of the maternity insurance.

　　Liaoning paternity leave is 15 days. Article 25 of Liaoning's new family planning regulations stipulates that couples who have legally registered their marriage shall, in addition to the statutory wedding leave, be granted an additional seven days of wedding leave; couples who have children in accordance with these regulations shall, in addition to the statutory maternity leave, be granted an additional sixty days of maternity leave, and the spouse shall be entitled to fifteen days of paternity leave. Wages shall be paid as usual during the leave period, and benefits shall remain unchanged.

　　Sichuan paternity leave is 20 days. Article 26 of Sichuan's new family planning regulations stipulates that couples who have children in accordance with these regulations are entitled to an extension of 60 days of maternity leave for the woman and 20 days of paternity leave for the man, in addition to what is provided by laws and regulations. Maternity and paternity leave are considered as attendance, with no change in salary and benefits.

　　Fujian paternity leave is 15 days. Article 41 of Fujian's new family planning regulations stipulates that couples who legally register for marriage are entitled to 15 days of marriage leave; couples who have children in accordance with these regulations are entitled to an extension of maternity leave to 158 to 180 days for the woman, and 15 days of paternity leave for the man. During marriage leave, maternity leave, and paternity leave, salaries are paid as usual, without affecting promotions.

　　Shandong paternity leave is 7 days. Article 25 of Shandong's new family planning regulations stipulates that couples who have children in accordance with the law and these regulations are entitled to an additional 60 days of maternity leave beyond the national standard, and 7 days of paternity leave for the man. The additional maternity leave and paternity leave are considered as attendance, with salaries paid as usual and benefits unchanged.

　　Hebei paternity leave is 15 days. The new Hebei family planning regulation stipulates that citizens who legally register for marriage, in addition to the statutory marriage leave, will have an extended marriage leave of 15 days; for couples who give birth in accordance with laws and regulations, in addition to the statutory maternity leave, the maternity leave will be extended by 60 days, and the spouse will be granted 15 days of paternity leave. During the extended marriage and maternity leave periods, the benefits of normal marriage and maternity leave are enjoyed.

　　Qinghai paternity leave is 15 days. The new Qinghai family planning regulation stipulates that for couples who give birth in accordance with the regulation, whether it is the first child, second child, or a third child or more, in addition to the statutory maternity leave of 98 days, the female's maternity leave is extended by 60 days, and the spouse is granted 15 days of paternity leave. Moreover, enterprises and institutions must pay wages as if on full attendance during the maternity and marriage leave periods, and must not affect salary adjustments, promotions, welfare benefits, or award evaluations.