{"id":7157,"date":"2026-05-25T21:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T21:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=7157"},"modified":"2026-05-25T21:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T21:42:12","slug":"rosewood-hotels-launches-16%e2%80%91week-global-paid-parental-leave-as-asias-birth-rates-plunge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=7157","title":{"rendered":"Rosewood Hotels launches 16\u2011week global paid parental leave as Asia\u2019s birth rates plunge"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hong Kong\u2019s fertility rate has sunk to roughly 0.8 children per woman, far below the replacement rate of 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population. Registered births in the city fell to just over 31,000 in 2025, a record low following years of declines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Long working hours and high childcare costs make starting a family a difficult choice for many households. Hong Kong\u2019s statutory maternity leave stands at 14 weeks of paid leave; it offers just five days of paternity leave. Hong Kong has tried to implement policies to subsidize some of the costs of childcare, including a one-off \u201cbaby bonus\u201d of 20,000 Hong Kong dollars ($2,550) to no avail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hong Kong\u2019s problem isn\u2019t unique, as several Asian economies like South Korea, Japan, and Mainland China are also grappling with falling birth rates. Even less wealthy markets across Asia, like Thailand, are aging faster than their level of development would suggest, leading to fears that such countries might \u201cgrow old before they get rich.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the luxury hotel chain, owned by Hong Kong\u2019s billionaire Cheng family, introduced a parental leave policy offering 16 weeks of fully paid leave to all employees, regardless of gender or seniority; employees still qualify if they adopt. The policy applies to associates across corporate offices and managed properties globally.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy rolling this policy out, it\u2019s going to have an impact on our culture and our talent, and it\u2019s going to drive business resilience in the long-term,\u201d says Keno Lung, Rosewood\u2019s global senior vice president for talent and culture. \u201cIt\u2019s not so much because it\u2019s the right thing to do, even though it absolutely is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Rosewood Hotels<\/p>\n

The move puts Rosewood ahead of statutory minimums across most of Asia, a region that has long lagged North America and Europe on parental benefits. It also arrives at an awkward moment for corporate leave policies. Deloitte is cutting paid family leave in half\u2014from 16 weeks to eight\u2014for internal support roles and also eliminating support for some fertility treatments. Zoom, meanwhile, has trimmed leave for birth mothers to 18 weeks, down from 22, and cut non-birthing parents\u2019 leave to 10 weeks from 16.<\/p>\n

Rosewood, founded in Dallas in 1979, is now part of the Cheng family\u2019s business empire. Sonia Cheng, daughter of family patriarch Henry Cheng, serves as Rosewood\u2019s CEO, as well as the chair of jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook Jewelry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, the group operates across 26 markets. Its most recent opening was in London in September 2025; new projects are under construction in Riyadh, Seoul, and Shanghai. Rosewood Hong Kong, meanwhile, was ranked the No. 1 hotel by The World\u2019s 50 Best Hotels in 2025.<\/p>\n

Like most luxury hotel companies, Rosewood is competing for skilled hospitality workers, who are in short supply across Asia after a post-pandemic travel boom. One issue is that potential workers see the hospitality industry as less prestigious than other sectors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t looking at brand prestige, or the opportunities they get at a company,\u201d Lung says. \u201cThey\u2019re actually thinking: \u2018Hey, do I align with the values of this company\u2019 and \u2018What\u2019s the purpose of this organization?’\u201d (He himself admits to leaving organizations that gave unsatisfying answers to these questions.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because Rosewood\u2019s parental leave policy applies in every market, Lung admits \u201cthere was a lot of complexity\u201d as the company rolled out the policy. \u201cYou\u2019re looking at different jurisdictions with different statutory requirements, around payment frameworks, around eligibility, around legalities of recognizing parenthood,\u201d he said. \u201cEven if it\u2019s not written in the law, a lot of existing cultural nuances are tied to gender roles around parental responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Generous leave policies frequently go underused, particularly by men, if workplace culture quietly penalizes those who take advantage of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you design something purely around maternity leave, which is what a lot of statutory frameworks focus on, then you place a disproportionate amount of pressure on women,\u201d Lung says. \u201cBy making this gender neutral, we\u2019re signaling that mothers, fathers and non-birth partners are treated equally, and remove the stigma from taking leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Rosewood isn\u2019t quite going the extra step of forcing parents to take time off. \u201cWe don\u2019t mandate that you must take leave, but we mandate that you\u2019re given the option,\u201d he says. The company will track return-to-work rates, engagement survey results, and long-term career progression among parents to measure whether the policy translates into practice.<\/p>\n

Rosewood has also established employee resource groups, including one dedicated to parents and caregivers, to support reintegration once employees return. \u201cWe work with leadership so that they really remove the notion that caregiving as a parent is a distraction or disruptor to a career,\u201d Lung says.<\/p>\n

#Rosewood #Hotels #launches #16week #global #paid #parental #leave #Asias #birth #rates #plunge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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