Chen Siqi

vankochensq@163.com

THE city’s family-friendly workplace program was launched to focus resources on caring for new-born babies and children during an event at UpperHills business complex in Futian District on Saturday, the International Day for Families.

The program was jointly supported by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Shenzhen Women and Children’s Development Foundation (SZWCDF).

The proposal for creating family-friendly workplaces was initiated by the UNICEF, which called for companies and institutions to take measures in helping employees better balance work and family, such as giving paid parental-leave, arranging flexible work time for parents and providing nursery services to the employees’ children.

Shenzhen has launched the program to explore options for creating such workplaces.

SZWCDF is seeking cooperation with companies that wish to play a role in creating family-friendly workplaces, according to Ma Hong, president of the SZWCDF.

“We will cooperate with companies to explore the new field by figuring out measures, such as setting flexible work time or building nursery facilities. We are looking forward to discovering more innovative practices,” she added.