The success of overseas policies that boost both women’s paid work and fertility suggests a potential unmet demand in women to do more of both. | OPINION by Jessica Irvine
“This relationship had reversed – fertility is now highest in countries where many women work,” the authors reveal.It may still be true that individual nation’s fertility rates are lower compared to history, but it is no longer the case that higher-income countries necessarily have the lowest fertility rates.
Family policies include paid parental leave and government investments in childcare, with the latter shown to have a direct positive impact not only on women’s workforce participation but also on fertility. Turns out, the choice between kids and careers is not binary at all. Women can have both, with the right support.
“In all countries with a fertility rate below 1.5 , men do less than a third of the work in the home.” By comparison, men in the most fertile OECD nations – Switzerland, Iceland, Finland and Norway – do between 35 and 40 per cent of the housework. “The clear cross-country association of fertility rates with measures of family-career compatibility shows that ultra-low fertility is not an inescapable fate, but a reflection of the policies, institutions, and norms prevalent in a society.”
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