A narrowing gap? Trends in the childlessness of professional women in Australia 1986–2006

Abstract

This paper examines whether the gap in fertility between women with higher education and in professional occupations and other women has narrowed or widened over time in Australia. Using data from the Australian Census of Population and Housing 1986, 1996, the paper focuses on levels of childlessness. Both working women (using occupational categories) and all women (using educational attainment) aged between 20 and 44 were examined. Focusing particularly on women working in, or qualified for, some selected high-prestige professions (doctors, lawyers, dentists and vets), as well as on women with other tertiary qualifications and working in other professional or managerial occupations, the findings suggest that, between 1986 and 2006, childlessness has grown at a slower rate for women with tertiary education than for all women, although women with tertiary education continue to have the highest proportion of childlessness. Our findings for working women were similar, with women working in selected prestigious occupations having the highest rates of childlessness of all working women, but with this growing at a slower rate than was the case overall.

Social Exclusion of Australian Childless Women in Their Reproductive Years

“…However, in the context of qualitative findings that some women felt excluded from mental and reproductive health services, and a United States study finding 22 per cent of childless women had difficulty obtaining healthcare (Bernstein, 2001), the aggregate score may have disguised problems with particular services. In the economic domain, most women were employed and in the upper middle or high personal income brackets, in accordance with the weight of Australian and international research (Debest & Mazuy, 2014;Miranti, McNamara, Tanton, & Yap, 2009;Waren & Pals, 2013).…”

“…Although selfselection was unavoidable due to the absence of a sampling frame, it may have produced a sample that was more likely to experience pronatalism-driven stigmatisation and exclusion. While the sample was not comparable with Australian women, participants' high educational attainment, employment rates, personal incomes and proportion of voluntary childlessness were consistent with research on the characteristics of childless women (Abma & Martinez, 2006;Miranti et al, 2009;Waren & Pals, 2013). Finally, due to its exploratory nature, the study did not control for confounding factors.…”

Fertility and the fast-track

“…It has recently been shown that educational orientation may be a more important determinant of fertility than level of education (Stanfors 2003;Lappegård and Rønsen 2005;Hoem et al 2006aHoem et al , 2006bMiranti et al 2009;Van Bavel 2010). To a high degree educational orientation matters through occupational choice since the two are closely related.…”

Expectations and experiences of midlife intending mothers engaging with Assisted Reproductive Technology

“…Parity is lower for women who have higher levels of education (Barber, 2001;Rindfuss & St.John, 1983) and those professionals (such as doctors and lawyers) have the highest rates of childlessness of working women (Miranti, McNamara, Tanton, & Yap, 2009). In 1970, three percent of working age Australians has higher education qualifications that increased to 25% in 2011, and of these 57% were females (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012a).…”

“…By contrast, most mothers' of the participants had a secondary-level education and fewer were employed outside the home. Women with higher levels of education and who are employed are more likely to delay childbearing and marriage (Rindfuss & St.John, 1983;Stolka & Barnett, 1969;Summers, 2003;Weston et al, 2004) and have a greater level of childlessness compared with non-tertiary educated women in Australia (Miranti et al, 2009). Most participants were conceived when their mothers were aged 21 to 30 years of age, whereas all the participants were trying to get pregnant at least 8 and up to 17 years later than their mothers, a noticeable delay within one generation.…”