How Does Population Growth Affect Gender Inequality?
Helium Writing Contest 2011
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The opinions expressed by contributors in Impact do not necessarily reflect those of PSI.Population growth has a staggering effect on gender inequality, which in turn affects economies and national development. Population growth will continue to have a significant effect on gender inequality until the global community takes urgent measures to eliminate it. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the relationship between the two.
The second-class citizenship of women carries with it high consequences. Women are overwhelmingly poor, particularly in developing countries, and are subjected to inhumane treatment, including forced child-marriages, human trafficking, domestic violence, and the denial of property and inheritance rights. It is in these areas that the effects of population growth and the resulting gender inequality cause greatest suffering.
Rapid population growth is both a cause and effect of poverty and inequality, with population growth rates being highest in high-poverty areas. Denied basic human rights, women in many high-poverty areas rely on childbearing for “survival, status and security.”1 Already suffering from extreme poverty, unwanted pregnancies and the responsibility of raising multiple children, opportunities for women are further restricted.
Areas with the cycle of high fertility rates – females bearing children at younger ages and having more children because of high adolescent fertility rates and high child mortality rates in their area – fail to achieve bonuses of lower fertility rates and higher per capita income.
The large family sizes in these areas with high fertility rates affect education, which in turn affects economic growth and development. Girls may end up leaving school very early to help at home or because of pregnancy once they reach puberty. An estimated two-thirds of the 350 million children without access to education are girls.2 In countries where girls are permitted an education, with better health care, including family planning resources, the gender inequality gap may begin to close.
On the other hand, in areas where women continue to be de-valued, in spite of commitments by countries to close gender inequality gaps, there will continue to be higher population growth, which will perpetuate the poverty and second-class status of women.
Although some countries have made progress in closing the inequality gap, other countries continue treating women in an inhumane manner, with little to no access to adequate health care, education or even basic needs.
However, eliminating gender inequality can slow population growth. In “A Sad Worldwide Gender Gap,” Cesar Chelala states that “smaller families mean slower population growth, which in turn diminishes competition for natural resources.” Indeed, if we commit to urgent action to end gender inequality worldwide, women would be empowered and countries would benefit from slower population growth and faster economic development.
– By Donna Hicks, who has been a writer for more than 25 years. She particularly enjoys writing about criminal justice, international politics and global issues, among many other topics. She recently enjoyed serving in a 13-month assignment as a member of various Helium writers’ groups – Distance Learning Criminal Justice, Distance Learning Culture & Arts, Distance Learning Social Sciences, Distance Learning Nursing, and Doctoral and Distance Learning Sciences. She was also the winner of the 2008 Paul Laurence Dunbar Memorial Poetry Prize in the adult category, which had more than 1,000 entries.
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