Why millennial women are efficient – but not very productive – mothers
Millennial women have reached child-bearing age in a corporate culture that encourages them to have fewer babies, closer together and later in life, says Eliza Filby
Few may have seen the link between yesterday’s budget and the latest fertility rates from the ONS which showed they have dropped to their lowest mark since records began. Demographics always act as an undercurrent determining the allocation of public funds and yes, economic growth. And, as both the Treasury’s announcements and ONS figures attest, it’s only heading one way.
The total fertility rate has declined to 1.44 children, well below the desired ratio between wage earners and pensioners. Nor is this a temporary blip; birthrates have been falling steadily since 2010. Demographics, as they say, is destiny; and we are beginning to realise the realities of a low birth rate and ageing society.
We are beginning to realise the realities of a low birth rate and ageing society
In some London boroughs, primary school-aged children have dropped by a third in part due to the Covid migration out of the city but also because these families are not being replaced. Primary schools are closing or reducing to one-form entry. Unexpectedly, parents are finding once tight catchment areas are loosening, but the downside is fewer pupils means less funding. Labour’s educational investment will be predominantly in secondary schools as this is where the demographic pull is.
At the other end of the life spectrum, these demographic shifts are straining the NHS and an underfunded social care system, putting pressure on families to fill the gaps. An ageing society has forced topics like the triple lock, social care, assisted dying and inheritance tax thresholds into public debate in ways they just weren’t under the previous Labour government. For businesses it also means a necessary new focus on older talent. Few CEOs view their over 40s as the future of their business, but soon, investing in middle-aged workers will be critical for sustaining their bottom line.
These trends are not unique to Britain. Europe is an ageing continent; the average European is 43 years old. Globally, fertility rates have halved since the 1960s. More recently, the issue of declining birth rates has been co-opted by (mostly male) pro-natalist politicians or commentators, including Elon Musk, encouraging pro-natalist policies and incentives around the world albeit with little success.
Demographics are a feminist issue
The problem is that pro-natalists miss the fundamental point: demographics is a distinctly female, and yes, feminist issue. Women not only procreate but they also live longer than men. It is also a highly emotive issue in which little is to be gained – bar contempt – from reducing women to their fertility rates and telling them to have more babies.
The key question is why are we having fewer children in the 2020s? Firstly, yes, the expense. The cost of the big things in life – education, housing, childcare – have gone up and are deterring couples. Wages have stalled, and in the case of working-class men, significantly declined. We also have a benefit system that penalises families with more than two children. The consideration of having children is overwhelmingly now a financial one for women, be it fertility treatment or lost pension contributions as well as extortionate nursery fees.
But historically women have had children, in fact many more children, in tougher economic conditions. So, what gives? You could point to the decline of religion and the rise of female education, but there’s also a more distinct generational point. Millennial women grew up with greater freedom than their mothers and distinct messaging about the timing of pregnancy; not too early, not too late, just on time.
Many of us have also entered the professional workplace where working motherhood was based on the idea that you must get to a certain point in your career before you have children. We watched as Gen X women struggled as working mothers of young children, sometimes in denial, often against the odds, and with little flexibility. It is a corporate culture that has turned those who want kids into incredibly efficient breeders; we have fewer children later in life and closer together. This is a break from previous generations of women as is the number of women who choose to reject this and be child-free. At the same time, society failed to put equal pressure on men to reach the level of maturity and stability that frankly women require when having a child. There is also a point we don’t like to admit; parenthood is a thankless task that jars with the hyper-individualistic culture we now live in.
Britain’s low birth rate affects more than public spending; it’s rooted in wages, housing costs, and shifting gender dynamics. This isn’t solely a government challenge – companies, too, must recognise their role in adapting to and supporting these realities if we’re to move beyond fertility rates and pro-natalist proclamations.
Eliza Filby’s book Inheritocracy: The Bank of Mum and Dad is out now