Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Branch has launched a pilot program offering childbirth subsidies to help its women researchers return to work. The initiative, “Plan Back-to-Lab,” provides a one-time grant of 50,000 yuan ($7,000) to postpartum scientists, including 30,000 yuan earmarked for research projects.

The program is open to CAS researchers under 40 with doctorates or associate senior titles who gave birth after Sept. 1, 2023. Only 20 will be chosen from the 4,421 women scientists at the academy.

A Shanghai official told domestic media the plan is meant to provide timely aid to those at risk of leaving science. “The goal is to direct limited resources to those who need them most,” the official said.

The idea was first proposed by Zhu Meiping, a researcher at CAS’s Shanghai Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics and a member of the Shanghai People’s Congress. She said the dual demands of childbearing and research had forced many of her peers to “get off the train.”

As of 2024, women made up nearly 44% of Shanghai’s total science and technology workforce. Within the CAS Shanghai Branch, women account for 38.7% of all staff, rising to 58.3% of researchers in the life sciences. Yet their presence in senior roles and elite talent programs has declined.

At the 2024 Shanghai Science and Technology Awards, announced on Aug. 26, just 20% of winners were women. Nationwide, women represent only 6% of academicians in the country’s top two science academies and under 20% of scholars in national talent programs. “The higher you go, the lonelier it gets,” said Kong Zhaohui, deputy Party secretary of the CAS Shanghai Branch.

Childbearing remains a major factor. Studies show that women’s academic productivity drops by about 20% after childbirth, while men are largely unaffected. A 2024 Shanghai survey of 737 mothers found that 46% believed childbearing had a significant impact on women’s careers in science and technology, with some leaving frontline research altogether. Only 12% said it had no effect.

For researchers like Li Wenran, however, the new plan’s impact is more immediate. The associate fellow at the CAS Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health is due to give birth in 20 days, making her eligible for the plan’s benefits.

“The golden years for research often collide with key stages of life. This sweet ‘burden’ forces many women to slow down academically,” she told domestic media. “(The plan) helps minimize career disruptions.” She noted that maternity leave at CAS lasts a minimum of six months.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: VCG)