Balancing work and family? Young mother’s coordination points in contemporary China

Abstract

ABSTRACT China’s transition from a centrally planned to a market economy has substantially intensified the pressure on women in playing their dual roles as care givers and income earners. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 34 young mothers in Jilin, China, this article employs the framework of ‘coordination point’ Skinner, C. [2003]. Running around in circles: Coordinating childcare education and work. Bristol: Policy Press). It looks at the daily journeys made in young women’s families and provides detailed information about the numbers of journeys take place and how these journeys are coordinated. The results show that Chinese young mothers retain the primary responsibility for childcare, not only transporting and caring for children, but taking the responsibility for organising the journeys to ensure the continuity of care. I argue that Chinese young mothers are not just taking on the ‘dual burden’ of work and care, but actually the ‘triple burden’ of worker, carer and manager as they deal with coordination points. Furthermore, grandparental support has been found to be particularly important in supporting working mothers by helping with coordination points and childcare activities. By contrast, long working hours and employed-favoured flexible arrangements, as well as the absence of childcare services for children under three, act as a hindrance to work–family balance.