Gender-role expectations and fertility rates in EU member states

This paper aims using data from the EVS2008 to investigate gender-role expectations and associations with fertility rates in EU member states. Countries with higher income and higher female employment rates tend to have higher fertility rates. Countries with higher fertility rates tended to have higher percentages of live births outside of marriage, suggesting a decline in traditional families. Gender gaps were smaller in countries with higher income and/or higher fertility rates. In wealthy Western societies, children are no longer produced primarily to extend family lines or valued as support for old age. For women, children and careers now go hand-in-hand.