Gender, power, and population change

An increasing number of countries support equality on the assumption that it will benefit women ultimately slow population growth. But researchers are still grappling with how gender is defined, how it is measured, and what it means for fertility and mortality trends within a specific country. This Bulletin explores what gender is, how it is expressed in different societies, and how is various expression relate to demographic processes. In general, fertility an child mortality are lower in societies in which women's educational status is relatively high (and similar to that of men) and in which women participate actively in the labor force. However, the author also describes several exceptions to these patterns, exceptions that reveal both the complexity of gender and the importance of looking at women's and men's roles within the context of a given society. The key factor in gauging women's status in a community may not be whether women are educated or employed, for example, but whether education or employment brings them additional power relative to men. Likewise, women's relative power determines the effect of female education and employment on fertility and mortality rates. This Bulletin uses case studies along with more traditional demographic data to explore the complex relationships among gender, power, and population change in nonindustrialized countries. It also examines how population policies can enhance or retard progress toward greater equality for women.