Chen v. Wang

Nature of the Case

Globally, women perform more  housework than men. In China, women complete over 2.5 times the amount of housework of men. Recent changes to divorce laws in China allow women to request compensation for this unpaid household labor, and this case appears to be the first application of that new law. In this case, the court ordered the husband to pay 50,000 yuan (USD $7,700) to his wife as compensation for her housework, including chores and childcare, during their five-year marriage.

Summary

The parties in this divorce action are Mr. Chen and Ms. Wang, a couple who married in 2015 and then separated in 2018. The couple has one son together. Mr. Chen filed this divorce action in October 2020, requesting that the court declare the couple divorced and divide their property.

Ms. Wang alleged that during their marriage, Mr. Chen did not participate in household matters besides going to work. Ms. Wang explained to the court that she cared for their son and managed the household chores single-handedly. Ms. Wang requested equal division of property and compensation for her household labor.

The court held that Ms. Wang and Mr. Chen were legally divorced, that Ms. Wang would raise their child, and that Mr. Chen would pay 2,000 yuan per month for child support. The judge also ordered Mr. Chen to pay 50,000 yuan (USD $7,700) to Ms. Wang for her household labor during their five-year marriage.

In this judgment, the court applied China’s new marriage law – Article 1088 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China – which became effective on January 1, 2021. The law states that: “Where one spouse is burdened with additional duties for raising children, looking after the elderly, or assisting the other spouse in his/her work, the said spouse has the right to request for compensation upon divorce against the other party, and the other party shall make due compensation.” The law also requires couples to attempt to negotiate this compensation; in cases where agreement cannot be reached, the law stipulates that the court will make a final decision.

In this case, the court reasoned that, while divorce cases usually handle the division of tangible property, housework holds intangible property value and should be considered an asset. The court noted that the amount of household labor compensation is determined by weighing four main factors: the time that the parties live together after becoming married; the woman’s specific housework contribution; the man’s personal income; and the average local standard of living. The court noted that future cases applying this law will help clarify how best to determine appropriate compensation for housework.

Significance of the Case

Legal experts in China note that this case seems to be the first of its kind applying China’s new marriage law that allows for housework compensation in divorce cases. Before the enactment of the new law on January 1, 2021, housework compensation was only available during divorce if the couple had signed a prenuptial agreement to keep their property separate – an uncommon practice in China.

After this case was reported by the press in China, it went viral on social media. Within days, hundreds of millions of Chinese internet users were discussing the case’s outcome and its implications for women in China. Chinese media outlet Phoenix Weekly polled over 427,000 people, asking them to evaluate the level of compensation. Nearly 94 percent of poll respondents said the compensation was right, but not enough. Some online commenters noted that compensation for a nanny or a house cleaner for a year is more than 50,000 yuan. Other commenters argued that men should take on more housework from the beginning and that women should not be full-time housewives.

Despite the fact that the low level of compensation awarded in this case is not an appropriate recognition of the labor performed by the wife, as divorce rates increase across China, activists see this case as a good start to compensating housework and are hopeful that the application of this law will improve conditions for women.

For their contributions, special thanks to ESCR-Net member: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.