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According to a survey by IUSSP, about 4.6% of secondary-educated and about 8% of higher-educated women have remained childless, and this is across all districts of India.
Childlessness In India: All women vs Graduate women, aged 40-49 years, 2011 Census Source: n-IUSSP
More educated women prefer child-freeness or having a single child. But this seems less like a choice and more like a compromise.
Why is it a problem?
The ideal replacement fertility level of 2.1 means two children to replace the parents, plus "one-tenth of a child" to make up for the infant mortality, higher probability of a male child, etc. Sub-replacement fertility leads to a less populous new generation.
While population control is a worry for India but if educated women remain childless or have a single child (sub-replacement fertility), it will create a population imbalance and poverty.
Imagine this. There are 100 couples, ie., 200 people- 100 women and 100 men.
50 women are highly educated and 50 are uneducated. Say the highly educated mothers give birth to a single child each, ie. 50 children and uneducated mothers give birth to 2 children each, ie., 100 children added. In the next generation, the ratio of kids educated to uneducated would be 50:100, ie., 1:2 which at the present generation was equal.
So despite all the efforts in empowering and educating women, on national levels, we won't see growth. Also, the cognitive and social development of a child and a family being raised by an educated mother will be nullified.
Gradually, it will cause problems due to an ageing population as faced by our Asian friends like Japan, China, and South Korea.
An ageing population leads to:
higher health care costs
As people age, they tend to require more medical care and support. This can place a significant strain on healthcare systems
Higher government spends
An ageing population means that more people are retiring and relying on pensions and social welfare programs. This can lead to increased government spending and higher taxes.
Labour force shortages
As older people retire, there may be a shortage of skilled workers in certain industries, which can impact economic growth.
Social isolation and higher dependency ratio
Older people may be more prone to social isolation and loneliness, which can impact their mental health and well-being. This will also increase the dependency ratio.
Childlessness can also be stigmatizing
Personal, physiological, and social stigma will have adverse effects on relationships with family and society. According to NIH, childless couples are 25-60% more prone to depression, self-esteem, and stress-related issues.
What does it take to have two children?
Say, if you want to have two children, keep at least 3 years of a gap, and take a break for a couple of years till your child starts going to school,
you need at least 6 years of a career break. That’s two promotion cycles at the peak of your career!
Then you will most definitely not start from where you left off. You will have some catching up to do, start a position lower than where you left off.
2-3 years of catching up
That brings the total to 8-9 years which is about 30% if you take an average career span of 30 years!
So motherhood of two children costs you about one-third of your peak career time.
The other option is of course outsourcing the childcare to daycares and nannies.
The cost of outsourcing childcare
Nannies or daycares
Basic daycares and nannies can cost you upwards of ₹13000 per month to even ₹30000 in Indian metros, not accounting for the efforts for supervision, surveillance, and the motherly guilt of leaving your child alone to a stranger.
Pre-school fees
With both parents working, couples chose to send their kids to preschools earlier than couples with family caretakers or mothers at home. The cost of pre-schools, after-school care, and conveyance can range from ₹50000 per annum and upwards depending on your city, according to Aditya Birla Capital.
More about the cost of raising a child in India here.
That's ₹25000 per month or ₹3 Lakh per annum!
A luxury not many can afford. This leads to one the parents, mostly women, taking it up themselves rather than outsourcing it, taking a hit on their careers.
Women facing opportunity-driven childlessness do not necessarily want to have no children at all. Most of them look for both economic success and reproduction, but cannot get both.
Thus, remaining child-free or having a single child does not (in many cases) happen as a matter of choice but as a matter of compromise!
Equal and mandatory parental leaves are the way to go!
The fight for equal women’s rights isn’t complete without fighting for men’s rights. Sexism is a two-edged sword. While it confines women to the kitchen, it confines men to the work. Now that boundaries of gender roles are blurring, policies and rules should also be made gender-neutral.
Equal parental leave benefits refer to policies that provide both mothers and fathers with the same amount of paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child. This approach aims to promote gender equality and encourage fathers to take an active role in parenting. Several countries around the world have implemented equal parental leave policies. Some examples include Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Canada, France, and Portugal.
The 26-week maternity leave in India often poses rejoining challenges, with women of marriageable age being less preferred over men who rather become more serious and dedicated to work after marriage/fatherhood.
Equal Parental Leaves levels the ground for both men and women. Making it mandatory is important to ensure enforcement and abidance giving equal opportunities to men to take up childcare responsibilities.
Some key benefits of equal and mandatory parental leaves:
Promotes gender equality: Equal parental leave policies promote gender equality by encouraging both parents to take an active role in parenting. This helps to break down gender stereotypes that assume women are the primary caregivers and men are the primary breadwinners. It also creates a more level playing field in the workplace, as men and women are more likely to take similar amounts of time off work to care for their children.
Improves child development: Research has shown that parental involvement is crucial for child development and that fathers who take an active role in parenting have children who are more socially and emotionally well-adjusted. By encouraging fathers to take equal amounts of parental leave, children benefit from having both parents involved in their care and development.
Reduces gender pay gap: When fathers take equal amounts of parental leave, it helps to reduce the gender pay gap by reducing the amount of time that women take off work for caregiving responsibilities. This, in turn, helps to promote gender equality in the workplace.
Improves work culture: Equal parental leave policies can help to create a more supportive work culture by showing that the organization values work-life balance and family commitments. This, in turn, can improve employee morale and engagement, and reduce turnover.
Improves mental health: Taking parental leave can be an important way to support mental health, both for parents and their children. By providing equal parental leave benefits, parents can take the time they need to recover from childbirth, bond with their newborns, and adjust to the demands of parenting, which can help to reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
Enhances work-life balance: Equal parental leave policies help to enhance work-life balance by allowing both parents to take time off work to care for their children. This, in turn, can help to reduce the stress and burnout associated with juggling work and family responsibilities, and allow employees to be more present and focused when they are at work.
A Little Love advocates equality in all ways and believes in being the change ourselves. Equal parental leaves are a crucial part of our HR policies. Visit our careers page to know more about our perks, benefits, and job openings.
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