The trend is reversing
Why successful women in these countries have more children
© Mary Long / Adobe Stock
A new study by the National Bureau of Economics speaks of a reversal of the previous trend, according to which women’s employment fell as they had children. These research results try to explain why successfully employed women in affluent countries are surprisingly having more children now than they were a few decades ago.
This is what a group of scientists observed in their study surprised that many more women were gainfully employed and that the birth rate there nevertheless rose. The opposite used to be the case. Only a few decades ago, the birth rate had fallen significantly in connection with the increasing labor force of women.
They explain the reversal of the trend as follows: According to this, this change came about as a result of four factors that made it easier to combine family and work: family policies, cooperative fathers, advantageous social norms and flexible labor markets.
More paid work – fewer children?
The study itself examines an enormous period of time, going back to the 19th century. The periods from 1980 to the present are particularly interesting – because the aforementioned trend reversal developed within this period. Where the birth rate used to fall when a woman went to work, it is now increasing in wealthy countries.
The reasons in the 1980s were, among others, these: the women wanted to work after the birth of their child, it was very difficult to find a balance. It was therefore better to spend more money on one child (or maybe two children) than to enlarge the family. For these reasons, it seemed only logical that the birth rate would continue to fall as mothers became more economically active. The situation was different in poorer countries with more unemployed women – here the birth rate fell only minimally.
Surprising change
Twenty years later, however, this prediction had not been confirmed – on the contrary: in America and Great Britain in particular, the proportion of working women had increased by 17 percent and the birth rate in wealthy countries was highest where most women were employed. These included America, Norway and France.
But how did the change come about? The researchers in the study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, blame cultural and political changes, including evolving family policies, fathers wanting to take a more active role in family life, as well as changing favorable social norms and becoming more flexible labor markets.
If it was socially and economically easier for mothers to pursue gainful employment and motherhood – as was the case, for example, in America or Norway – the birth rate rose. In countries where reconciliation was still difficult, such as Italy or Spain, women also had fewer children with less work. And: Although the proportion of fathers who take on care work and thus promote the compatibility of job and parenthood is increasing in Germany, they still lag behind France, Norway and Belgium in a European comparison.
Political factors such as regulated childcare, paid parental leave or child benefit play a major role here, as does the willingness of fathers to take on more care work and household chores. Nevertheless, the scientists see it as clear that the trend in wealthy countries of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) will continue.
Sources used: The Economics of Fertility: A new Era study, economist.com, reddit.com