Women Employment

Relationship between women employment and demographic changes

* I chose area and the exact topic of study

* Started researching via internet according to concept I made (question such as fertility and employment rates by country I'm studying)

* Researched newspaper archives in my country and countries I'm studying

* Questioned women from my surroundings

* Informed myself about measures taken by governments and other upcoming projects

How much influence does employment of women have on recent demographic changes?

From the beginning of the previous century women have fought hard to become equal with men in all aspects of life. Now the status of both genders is equal. In the past decades the number of women who choose to pursue their career has very much grown. The increase in women employment rate sadly comes with some consequences. More women now choose to postpone or even skip having children. That has left its mark on natural increase rate and many other spheres.

The rate of natural increase in countries of European Union (EU 25 ) in 2010is 0.1% , while in 2001 it was 0.4% . That is a decrease of 0.3% in less than 10 years, it means that there were only 100 more people per 1000 instead of 400 in '01. That is a steady decrease, which is most likely to continue. Along with natural increase rate falling, of course the women employment rate has risen and the employment gender gap has narrowed. In EU in 2000 gender gap (men are still in advance) was 17.1 percentage points (pp), compared to 14.2 pp in 2007. That equals a difference of -2.9pp. Employment rate of women aged 20-49 with one child under 12 is 65%, falling to 58% for those with two children, and in the end it is 41% for women with three or more children. That shows us that amount of time worked by a woman is closely linked with number and age of her kids, which is usually not case among men. Percentage of women (aged 24-54) inactive due to family responsibilities in European Union (EU15 ) is 17.6%, with its peak in Greece (33.8%), and lowest percentage in Sweden (only 1.8) . Also age of women at their first childbirth has gone from 29.5 in 2000 to 30.3 in 2008 .

On the other hand, situation in India is quite different. Although I had some difficulties finding needed data for this country I still managed to find some statistics. Rate of natural increase in India is 1.5, which is more than world's average of 1.2. . It is also supposed to be the most populous country in the world by 2050, outgrowing China, which is currently on the first place . That indicates possible grow of natural increase rate. Percentage of economically active women, aged 15+ is only 41 .

I have chosen countries of European Union and India to compare because those are absolutely different countries in different situations and both give us completely other views. Although contrasting, statistics in both countries confirm the same rule. In my opinion the rule is reverse relationship between women employment rate and natural increase rate. It can be seen that, as percentage of employed women rises the natural increase rate lowers and opposite.

We can also see from the data above that fertility decreases and age at first child bearing rises as countries get more economically developed. I have found the reason for that in more opportunities available for women and better living standards. In other words women who live in Sweden (known as one of the countries with highest living standards and little unemployment) are more likely to try to establish their careers early in life than women in India. Apart from different economic situations of these countries the difference also lies in completely opposite social and cultural environment. In Sweden it is almost considered as a must for a female to receive a proper education and employ herself, while in India it is unusual and sometimes even embarrassing.

In addition to European Union and India, I would like to bring out country where I am from, Serbia, as third opinion. Firstly, I would like to mention that Serbia is still not part

of European Union, but follows global trends and looks up to the countries of EU. Rate of natural increase (or unfortunately decrease in this case) is -0.5% . In period between 1991 and 2002 number of people has decreased. Census in 1991 showed that there were 7,576,837 people, but by the next census (also currently the latest one) in 2002 the number was 7,498,001 . I have counted that it is a fall of 1.04% in 11 years. That is considered to be quite a big decrease. Average number of children per women has gone from 1.6 to 1.4 in last ten years . Mean age of women at their first childbirth has increased, it was 25 in 2000 and now it is approximately 27 . Women are waiting more to get married too. In Serbia percentage of employed women is 53 , that means one in two women capable of working actually is employed. Considering extremely low natural increase rate, it would be natural to have much grater women employment rate in Serbia. I find reason for that in Economic crisis Serbia is facing for a long time.

Despite of relatively low percentage of employed women, statistics still show us major global influence on Serbia, older mothers and lower birth rate. It can be seen that mean age of women at childbirth has increased (and is about 30) in both EU countries and Serbia.

Situation in my hometown, Belgrade, is also something I would like to discuss. As example I would like to