The Reason Why Some Women Are Childless

Financial constraints can prevent young adults from starting a family.

Source: Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

In 2021, JD Vance made comments suggesting that women are childless because they are "obsessed with their jobs" and playing a "status game." His remarks have sparked outrage from many segments of society, especially among those who have struggled with social and biological infertility.

As has been attested by critics of Vance’s comments, such comments are used too frequently to unfairly portray women without children in an unfavorable light. Such portrayals are also frequently used to blame women for the dramatic fertility decline in recent years.

Such unfair characterizations exist, although extensive research indicates that financial constraints may be one of the main reasons why young men and women have children at older ages or choose not to have them at all. In a recent Pew Report, 36% of adults ages 18 to 49 reported that they did not have children because they could not afford to do so.

At the heart of men's and women's decision to postpone fertility or delay parenthood is increasing economic uncertainty. In many developed countries, larger portions of adults have non-standard jobs which are often characterized by low wages and little job security.¹ Given that parenthood requires substantial long-term financial commitments, individuals experiencing economic instability may opt to delay starting a family or forego parenthood altogether.²

Rapidly rising housing prices may also be a contributing factor to why people are having children at older ages or choosing to not have children at all. About a third of young adults in Canada state that they do not foresee being able to start a family because they do not anticipate being able to afford suitable housing to raise children.³

The dramatic increase in childcare and educational costs may also be a contributing factor to why young adults are not having children. It is projected that it will cost middle-class families with two parents $310,605 to raise a child born in 2015 to age 17. Such large sums of money may only be available to some.

Growing economic polarization between those with and without college degrees may offer an explanation for why young adults are delaying fertility. Today, young adults may need to stay in school for a longer period to attain the lifestyle many believe is necessary for raising children.⁴ Additionally, in the process, they may also accumulate student debt, which has been associated with lower fertility^.5

Other factors contributing to higher rates of childlessness may be high levels of infertility. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that one in six adults worldwide will experience infertility issues at some point in their lifetime.⁶ While some of these individuals can seek treatment and address their infertility issues through medically assisted reproductive technology, many will not be able to do so because they may not have access to these options or may not be able to afford to do so.⁷

During the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign, the Democratic strategist James Carville popularized the phrase “It's the economy, stupid”.⁸ This phrase may also be relevant in explaining recent declines in fertility and increases in childlessness. Pundits and politicians ought to remember that fertility outcomes are the byproduct of individuals' fertility intentions and their ability to actualize them. With this in mind, they may want to refrain from passing judgment on people based on their fertility outcomes.