Improving the status of women has a direct and powerful impact on population growth. When women are educated, empowered, and have access to healthcare and employment opportunities, they tend to marry later, have fewer children, and make informed reproductive choices. This leads to a decline in fertility rates and thus helps in slowing down the rate of population growth.
Below is a detailed explanation of how different aspects of women’s empowerment affect population growth, especially in the Indian context:
1. Women’s Education and Fertility Rate
- Educated women tend to marry later and are more likely to understand and adopt family planning methods.
- As women’s educational levels increase, their fertility rate decreases.
For example, in India:- Women with no education have an average of 3 or more children.
- Women with 12 or more years of schooling have an average of 1.8 to 2 children.
Effect on population growth: Education delays marriage and childbirth, directly reducing the number of children a woman has in her lifetime.
2. Access to Employment and Financial Independence
- When women participate in the workforce, especially in formal employment, they are less likely to marry early and more likely to limit the number of children to balance work and family life.
- Working women also tend to invest more in each child’s health and education rather than having a large number of children.
Effect on population growth: Increased economic participation by women leads to smaller, planned families.
3. Decision-Making Power and Autonomy
- In traditional societies, especially in rural India, men or elder family members often decide how many children a woman should have.
- Empowered women who can make decisions about their own health and fertility are more likely to:
- Use contraceptives,
- Opt for spacing between children,
- Limit their family size.
Effect on population growth: Empowerment leads to greater use of reproductive health services, reducing unplanned pregnancies.
4. Delayed Marriage and Childbearing
- In India, early marriage is still common in rural areas. When girls marry before 18, they are more likely to have more children over their lifetime.
- Empowered women, especially those pursuing higher education or careers, tend to marry at a later age, which reduces their reproductive window.
Effect on population growth: Later marriage reduces the time available for childbearing, helping to lower fertility rates.
5. Better Health and Nutrition Awareness
- Educated and aware women are more likely to access prenatal and postnatal care, maintain good health, and ensure proper nutrition for themselves and their children.
- Healthy women are more capable of making informed decisions about childbirth and avoiding frequent pregnancies.
Effect on population growth: Awareness and health access prevent high fertility due to repeat pregnancies after child loss.
6. Use of Contraceptives and Family Planning
- Empowered women are more likely to use modern contraceptive methods like IUDs, pills, sterilisation, etc.
- They are also more likely to seek counselling about birth spacing and family planning services.
Effect on population growth: Increased contraceptive use leads to reduced fertility and better spacing between children.
7. Impact of Government Schemes Focused on Women
- Schemes like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, Janani Suraksha Yojana, Mission Shakti, and POSHAN Abhiyaan help improve women’s status through education, health, and empowerment.
- These initiatives encourage gender equality and small family norms.
Effect on population growth: Such schemes indirectly reduce fertility by raising awareness and improving women’s choices.
8. Cultural Shift in Gender Norms
- When women’s status improves, society begins to shift from son preference to gender equality.
- A strong reason for large families in India is the desire for male children. Empowered women may resist repeated childbirth to get a son.
Effect on population growth: Reducing gender bias leads to fewer repeated pregnancies and balanced family planning.
9. Intergenerational Impact
- Empowered mothers educate their daughters, ensuring that the next generation marries later, has fewer children, and continues the cycle of empowerment.
- They also set examples within their families and communities.
Effect on population growth: Long-term cultural change contributes to sustained low fertility rates.
10. Urban vs Rural Divide
- Urban women in India, due to better education and employment opportunities, have fewer children on average than rural women.
- Empowerment initiatives in rural areas show promising results when Self Help Groups (SHGs), ASHA workers, and anganwadi centres promote women’s health and education.
Effect on population growth: Rural empowerment can significantly reduce rural fertility rates, which are currently higher than urban areas.
Conclusion
Improving the status of women is not just a matter of social justice — it is a strategic approach to control population growth. Empowered women are better informed, more assertive, and healthier, and they tend to make rational reproductive choices. This leads to:
- Lower birth rates,
- Longer spacing between children,
- Improved child and maternal health,
- Sustainable development for families and communities.
In the Indian context, investing in women’s education, health, and economic participation is one of the most effective ways to achieve population stabilisation and to ensure inclusive national growth.