70% of local women juggle caregiving, financial stress, and health concerns

A study by the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) found that more than 70% of women in Macau are responsible for caring for two or more family members while grappling with financial pressures and health concerns, leading to widespread stress among respondents.

The survey, titled “Women’s Living and Employment Conditions in 2025,” focused on 1,000 women aged 18 to 65 and revealed that two-thirds of respondents are constantly caring for children and elderly dependents, with over 60% responsible for at least two family members. This caregiving burden, combined with financial strain, has resulted in more than two-thirds of women reporting symptoms of stress in their daily lives.

Financial concerns were a significant issue, with 80% of respondents stating that daily meal expenses have increased.

Half of the women cited public services such as water, electricity, childcare, transportation, medical care, and bank loans as their largest expenditures. Additionally, 73% of those surveyed earn less than the median salary of 20,500 patacas per month, and nearly 70% described their work as stressful or very stressful.

Meanwhile, the survey highlights that nearly 90% of women believe government financial assistance is essential to address the economic challenges they face.

The findings indicate that approximately half of the participants hold tertiary education degrees. However, around 80% reported stagnant or declining income levels since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, 73% expressed concerns regarding their employment prospects.

During a press conference on Friday, lawmaker Ella Lei emphasized the need to improve leave entitlements and protections for female employees.

Furthermore, about 77% of respondents cited economic conditions as a primary source of stress. Leong Meng Ian, another representative of the workers’ group, called for government action on family and maternity issues, proposing extended maternity leave, increased childcare subsidies, and enhanced housing policies to support women and families.

Encouraging higher birth rates was another focus of the study, with the majority of respondents agreeing that extending maternity leave from 70 to 90 days and increasing the value of birth benefits would be effective ways to incentivize women to have more children.

For FAOM, there is still room for improvement in the labor rights and interests of women in Macau, particularly concerning maternity leave. Currently, female employees in the private sector are entitled to just 70 days of maternity leave, which is significantly less than the 90 days offered to civil servants and the 14 weeks recommended by the Maternity Protection Convention.

The same call was previously made by lawmaker Wong Kit Cheng, who emphasized the urgent need to raise maternity leave benefits to 90 days, aligning with the same duration offered to civil servants, as outlined in the Macau Women’s Development Goal Plan.

Although Wong acknowledged that amending the labor relations law to accommodate these changes has not yet been discussed, and no mechanism has been activated to do so, she believes that one possible solution could be to transform the current subsidy program into an administrative regulation.

“This would allow the government to provide subsidies to businesses, encouraging them to adopt family-friendly policies, such as extended maternity leave,” she said. Victoria Chan