10-07-202654
Research conducted by Nobel Prize laureate Claudia Goldin has sparked intense debate worldwide. According to her findings, the decline in birth rates is not driven by economic crises or demographic processes, but rather by the growing independence of women. In other words, as access to education, professional advancement, and personal decision-making expands, women are increasingly delaying childbearing or reducing the number of children they have.
The study emphasises that the primary cause of this phenomenon lies in what it calls "structural barriers" — the unequal distribution of household responsibilities and the inadequacy of state-provided childcare guarantees. For instance, in countries such as Japan and South Korea, women spend approximately three hours more per day on domestic tasks than men. This disrupts the work-life balance, leading many women to opt for fewer children or to postpone motherhood altogether.
The situation is markedly different in Sweden and Denmark, where state support for childcare is well-developed and parental responsibilities are distributed equitably. As a result, birth rates in these countries are comparatively higher, and women participate more actively in the labour market.
In my view, the blame lies not with women themselves, but with the system. Women are gaining independence — this signifies societal progress. However, if the state and men are not prepared for this shift, a disruption of family equilibrium is inevitable. The genuine solution is not to curtail women's opportunities, but to build a social system that supports them. Only then will independence and family fulfilment cease to be contradictory and instead become mutually reinforcing concepts.