Thinking Geographically #1 - The Global Fertility Crash
November 13, 2019
The Global Fertility Crash
To maintain a stable population, women need to give birth to at least 2 children. The average fertility rate in 2017 was 2.43 live births per woman. The world economy needs population growth to have more people to produce and buy products, which gives governments more money. Sometimes governments try to regulate population growth when a country's fertility rate is too high. An example of this is China's one-child policy, which only allows one child per family.
Woman's earnings in most countries are less than 2/3 of men's, and only 53% of women are in the workforce. In 1945 women in France won suffrage. Today in France, women's earnings are 72% of men's, and 99% of women are literate. Celine Grislain is a French woman who works at the Ministry of Health in Paris. She has three children, ages 5, 3, and 1. “Having children forces you to be more efficient. Before having children, I would often stay late in the evenings. I find that when you manage a team, being a boss that doesn’t stay too late removes some pressure from people—it’s a routine that is quite healthy for everyone. After my third child, I went down to 80% [time, working four days a week]," as stated by Celine.
Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, 25% of women are in the workforce and their earnings are only about 22% of men's. Lubna Alkhaldi is a 34-year-old fashion designer and anchor at her local TV station in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. She makes $102,400 a year but isn't married. "I am not married. It's not an easy decision to take, not at all. Motherhood is a beautiful thing. I have moments where I wish I had a baby I could hold and play with. But I want to make and build my own family, under my conditions. I wanted to choose my husband myself, out of love," says Alkhaldi. She often gets hate from others because she doesn't have a husband. People say things like 'Lubna is not beautiful enough, which is why she's saying no,' or 'She's not good enough, and she says no so she won't be embarrassed,' Although she's single and doesn't have any children she's accomplished many things like getting a B.A. in nutrition and being one of the first women able to drive in Saudi Arabia.
Women in China have an average of 1.7 births, and 69% of them are in the workforce. Summer Guan is a 36-year-old woman who's married and has a child. She works for a state-owned company in Beijing and makes about $34,000 a year. “Before the baby, I was a typical career woman: working late hours, leading a team, tackling difficult issues, and always delivering at work," Guan is talking about how her life was normal before she had her child. During her interview with Bloomberg News, she talks about how her company discriminated against her and treated her horribly during her pregnancy. “The whole incident has taken a toll on my personal life. I was a confident career woman, and financially independent, too. But now my confidence has been chipped away. I suffered from postpartum depression, and sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night crying. I blame myself for not taking good care of my child, and the regret will accompany me for my entire life," as said by Summer Guan.
Nigerian women have an average of 5.5 live births, but only 41% of them are literate. Abosede George-Ogan is 36 years old and lives in Lagos, Nigeria. She works for the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund as with a director-level role and makes a salary of about $27,000. She and her husband have three children. “My dad was in the air force, my mom was a teacher. As a matter of fact, my mom didn’t just work, she had every type of business you can [have]. Apart from her day job, my mom sold ice blocks in the house. She sold popcorn, she had a salon, she had a garment-making fashion design place. She had a computer business at some point. She used to travel to China, Dubai, Senegal to buy stuff," Abosede talks about how hard her mother worked to help support her family.
Woman's earnings in most countries are less than 2/3 of men's, and only 53% of women are in the workforce. In 1945 women in France won suffrage. Today in France, women's earnings are 72% of men's, and 99% of women are literate. Celine Grislain is a French woman who works at the Ministry of Health in Paris. She has three children, ages 5, 3, and 1. “Having children forces you to be more efficient. Before having children, I would often stay late in the evenings. I find that when you manage a team, being a boss that doesn’t stay too late removes some pressure from people—it’s a routine that is quite healthy for everyone. After my third child, I went down to 80% [time, working four days a week]," as stated by Celine.
Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, 25% of women are in the workforce and their earnings are only about 22% of men's. Lubna Alkhaldi is a 34-year-old fashion designer and anchor at her local TV station in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. She makes $102,400 a year but isn't married. "I am not married. It's not an easy decision to take, not at all. Motherhood is a beautiful thing. I have moments where I wish I had a baby I could hold and play with. But I want to make and build my own family, under my conditions. I wanted to choose my husband myself, out of love," says Alkhaldi. She often gets hate from others because she doesn't have a husband. People say things like 'Lubna is not beautiful enough, which is why she's saying no,' or 'She's not good enough, and she says no so she won't be embarrassed,' Although she's single and doesn't have any children she's accomplished many things like getting a B.A. in nutrition and being one of the first women able to drive in Saudi Arabia.
Women in China have an average of 1.7 births, and 69% of them are in the workforce. Summer Guan is a 36-year-old woman who's married and has a child. She works for a state-owned company in Beijing and makes about $34,000 a year. “Before the baby, I was a typical career woman: working late hours, leading a team, tackling difficult issues, and always delivering at work," Guan is talking about how her life was normal before she had her child. During her interview with Bloomberg News, she talks about how her company discriminated against her and treated her horribly during her pregnancy. “The whole incident has taken a toll on my personal life. I was a confident career woman, and financially independent, too. But now my confidence has been chipped away. I suffered from postpartum depression, and sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night crying. I blame myself for not taking good care of my child, and the regret will accompany me for my entire life," as said by Summer Guan.
Nigerian women have an average of 5.5 live births, but only 41% of them are literate. Abosede George-Ogan is 36 years old and lives in Lagos, Nigeria. She works for the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund as with a director-level role and makes a salary of about $27,000. She and her husband have three children. “My dad was in the air force, my mom was a teacher. As a matter of fact, my mom didn’t just work, she had every type of business you can [have]. Apart from her day job, my mom sold ice blocks in the house. She sold popcorn, she had a salon, she had a garment-making fashion design place. She had a computer business at some point. She used to travel to China, Dubai, Senegal to buy stuff," Abosede talks about how hard her mother worked to help support her family.
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