Fertility & Empowerment Network Working Paper Series

The Fertility and Empowerment Network, funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, has undertaken a series of empirical studies that examine whether and to what extent increasingly smaller family sizes in lower and middle income countries have empowered women or resulted in fundamental transformations in inequitable gender systems.

The main findings from the series are detailed in a research brief, In Brief: How Have Fertility Declines Benefitted Women’s Lives in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?

The Fertility & Empowerment Network Working Paper Series includes the following studies:

Has Fertility Decline Contributed to Improvements in Women’s Lives?
Kirsten Stoebenau, ICRW; RohiniPande, Consultant; Anju Malhotra, UNICEF

Remobilizing the Gender and Fertility Connection: The Case for Examining the Impact of Fertility Control and Fertility Declines on Gender Equality
Anju Malhotra, International Center for Research on Women

Like Daughter, Like Son? Fertility Decline and the Transformation of Gender Systems in the Family
Keera Allendorf, University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana

The Influence of Women’s Early Childbearing on Subsequent Empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-National Meta Analysis
Michelle Hindin, The Johns Hopkins University

Fertility Decline, Women’s Well-being, and Gender Gaps in Well-being in Poor Countries
Kathryn Yount, Emory University; Sarah Zureick-Brown, Emory University; Nasifa Halim, Boston University; Kayla LaVilla, Emory University

A Macro-level Exploration of the Links between Fertility Decline and Gender Equality
Susan Lee-Rife, Lee-Rife Research; Sophie Namy, International Center for Research on Women; Anju Malhotra, UNICEF

Fertility Decline and Women’s Empowerment in China
Xiaogang Wu, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Hua Ye, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Gloria Guangye He, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The Impact of Family Planning on Women’s Educational Advancement in Tehran, Iran
Amir Erfani, Nipissing University, Canada

Fertility Decline and Changes in Women’s Lives and Gender Equality in Tamil Nadu, India
Rohini Pande, consultant ; Anju Malhotra, UNICEF; Sophie Namy, International Center for Research on Women

Intergenerational Relationship Between Women’s Fertility, Aspirations for their Children’s Education, and School Dropout in the Philippines
Jessica Gipson, University of California, Los Angeles; Archana More Sharma, California State University; ; Michelle Hindin, The Johns Hopkins University

The Linkages between Community Fertility and African South African Women’s Labor Force Participation and Education
Kirsten Stoebenau, International Center for Research on Women; Daniela Casale, The University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa ; Donna Ansara, The Johns Hopkins University

Fertility Decline and Gender Inequality in Bangladesh
Sajeda Amin, Population Council; Simeen Mahmud, BRAC Development Institute