Abstract
Modelling fertility decline in post-industrial populations in the context of life history theory has allowed us to better understand the environmental pressures that shape reduced family size. One such pressure, which has received relatively little attention from ecologists, is the movement of women into the labour market. Analyses of effects of employment on fertility in contemporary developing or post-demographic transition populations are limited by the widespread use of modern contraceptives: while uptake of these methods may be a mechanism by which reduced fertility is enacted, their use may obscure effects of employment on fertility. Here, we investigated the impact of women’s employment on family size during a period of the movement of women into the workforce but prior to the use of modern contraceptives. We analysed the effects of women’s employment on family size using census records from 1901 for a regional-level analysis of parishes in Scotland, and for 1851–1901 for an individual-level analysis of the Scottish city of Dundee. Women in employment had fewer children than those not in employment. Income was inversely related with family size, and this was independent of the effects of women’s employment on family size. We suggest that female employment contributes to the evolution of smaller family sizes and that this takes place in the context of prevailing and emerging gender roles, and in interaction with opportunities for employment and wealth.
Highlights
Associations between women’s employment and family size are situated in complex social, economic, and occupational contexts, and influenced by the prevailing cultural norms around gender roles [1] and gender equity [2,3]
Life history theory provides a theoretical framework for the analysis of fertility, offering a link between the proximate conditions of an individual’s social and physical environment, and the ultimate function of adaptive reproductive decision-making [4]
We suggested that the movement of women into paid employment may force a trade-off in the allocation of time for paid work versus parental care, allow women a greater say over their reproductive outcomes, or increase family income, which, in turn, reduces family size [8]
Summary
Associations between women’s employment and family size are situated in complex social, economic, and occupational contexts, and influenced by the prevailing cultural norms around gender roles [1] and gender equity [2,3]. Life history theory provides a theoretical framework for the analysis of fertility, offering a link between the proximate conditions of an individual’s social and physical environment, and the ultimate function of adaptive reproductive decision-making [4]. Fertility (treated in this framework as current reproductive output or number of offspring) is guided by trade-offs in the allocation of somatic resources, including investment in raising offspring versus securing mating opportunities, and in current versus future offspring [5].
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