Does Gender Inequality at Home Lead to Low Fertility in South Korea?

• In Event: 381 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 11. Gender Inequality

Abstract

Does gender inequality matter for fertility decline? A great number of studies suggest that persistent lowest-low fertility in East Asian countries largely depend on the non-egalitarian gender practice at home. Therefore, I explore whether gender practice at home influence the births timing of first child and second child in South Korea. Using data from the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families (Klowf), I use Cox regression to examine the effects of 1) sharing of household tasks, 2)egalitarian attitude of wife, 3) socio-economic factors of couples, and 4) role conflict of wife on the timing of first and second birth. The analysis shows that, factors of the timing of the first birth are different than the factors that influence second birth timing. In both analysis, the effect of gender inequality on postponement of childbearing is severe for women in conflicting situation. I concluded that conventional fertility policy that emphasized on reinforcing family value is not appropriate and the universal economic provision should be re-directed to the provision of practical childcare help.

Author

• Joeun Kim, Pennsylvania State University