Female employment and fertility desires

Popul Res Bull. 1978 Jan;1(1):1.

Abstract

PIP: A recent study at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics examined whether women who are employed want fewer or more children than those who are unemployed. Among married women who had not achieved ideal family size more of the working women reported that they did not want an additional child. When controlled for age of wife, number of children, number of children and number of sons, the difference between working and nonworking women were largely among women over 30, women with 4 or more children, or 2 or more sons. Number of sons was found to be an important variable. If the status of women were raised and sons not considered so highly desirable, fertility rates may decrease. Most women in the sample had low status, nonexecutive jobs which may explain why employment was not a determining variable among young women. Working rural women were more apt to be using birth control than nonworking rural women.

MeSH terms

  • Asia
  • Asia, Southeastern
  • Behavior
  • Birth Rate
  • Demography
  • Developing Countries
  • Economics
  • Family Characteristics*
  • Family Planning Services*
  • Fertility
  • Pakistan
  • Parity*
  • Population
  • Population Characteristics
  • Population Dynamics
  • Poverty
  • Psychology
  • Rural Population
  • Sex*
  • Social Class*
  • Social Values
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Women's Rights*
  • Women*