Greater Emphasis on Careers or Having Children - Essay Example

This seemed to be one of the strongest factors why today, the perception is that having children is an obstacle for women who want to have careers. It is like if the woman wants to get ahead for a successor in the corporate ladder, she should not get married and have kids. Also, some women are getting practical especially in the context of how expensive it is to raise children. For instance, the Family Circle magazine stated in a survey that parents in the UK would have spent about ₤43,000 by the time their kid reaches the age of 18, inclusive of food, education, and other necessities. (Curtis 2006)

Disturbing Trend
The case would have been alright since the rise in the number of women in the labor force is seen as a positive development in terms of equality in the workplace. However, things become disturbing when a huge percentage of women today are willing to forego having children in favor of working. According to the British National Statistics Office, roughly 20% of women reaching the end of their fertility are childless, and that the majority of both men and women believe that enjoyment is more important than having children. (Gillan 2006) This is underscored by a study undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Council which explored the changing gender-role attitudes of today’s generation. It reported that public opinion in Europe has increasingly leaned in favor of women working and that if the woman is married she is expected to contribute to the household income. (2006)

Effects
If the trend continues to hold, with women preferring work over family, then it would contribute to the decline of traditional family values. This is essentially not a positive development since as Richard Eden (2000) has argued, “there are fewer people marrying and more divorcing, more step-families, more cohabitation, more single mothers, fewer children, and more older people.”

The economic implication of a stagnant population is very significant. This has been the problem of France and maybe of Britain and other European countries in the near future. For example, one of the areas affected by a stagnant and aging population is social security. A European government is projected to spend more taxes on the deluge of retirees who will avail of their social security retirement benefits. (Wise 1994, 5) This comes with the decline in labor force participation rates of older persons which are expected to lead to a continued rise in the ratio of older non-workers to the working population and an associated increased dependency. (Gilford 1988, 58) Read More