The Second Demographic Transition

Introduction

Based on women having fewer children and at later ages
Women want to pursue a career and travel due to various different life paths now available to them
There is a rising symmetry in gender roles
The percentage of people aged 18-35 still living at home with their parents is increasing, especially in Eastern European countries
The invention of small domestic engines such as washing machines, hoovers, dishwashers etc has enabled women to have more spare time allowing them to work.
There are increasing divorce rates and partnership dissolutions
Partnership dissolution and divorce's lead to non-family living or one-person households.

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In the first demographic transition there was an increasing number of people getting married
People were getting married at younger ages
Divorce was rare in the first DT.
High levels of remarriage in the event of divorce or widowhood
In the second demographic transition there is a decline in the number of people getting married.
People are getting married later at older ages
Divorce rates are increasing
Large proportion of cohabitation living
Remarriage is rarer than in the first DT

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Fertility rates have dropped below replacement level in many countries
This is due to effective contraception becoming increasingly more reliable and accessible
Lots of women are now not having children until the age of 30 or above
This leads to postponement effects where there is a drop in fertility levels due to women postponeing their childbearing
This can be counterbalnced in certain countries such as the US or UK due to high rates of teenage pregnancy

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The traditional male bread-winner system has transformed into dual earner couples.
This has lead to the emergence of stay-at-home dad's and female bread-winner's.
Certain roles have emerged to help women balance work and family life.
These roles include...
Grandparents
Nursery
After school clubs
Men's involvement in housework and childcare
Cleaners
Part-time work

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Micro changes happen on an individual level
Women have aspirations and career goals that they want to fulfill before settling down and having children
Women have more autonomy and independence
They have more sexual freedom due to effective contraception so do not need to worry so much about the risk of becoming pregnant
Women are often more reluctant now to commit to long-term relationships

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Macro changes happen on a contextual or societal level
Modernisation has lead to women having lots of different life paths available to them
The spread of televised information has encouraged women to do things such as travel while thye are young before settling down to have children
Health and medical technology
Transportation has allowed women to travel more for relatively cheap costs

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More and more women are now continuing in further education such as going to University to help them pursue their career goals
Research has found that women with higher qualifications (above GCSE's or O-Levels) are less likely to have their first birth out of a live-in partnership.
They are less likely to become a lone-mother
Less likely to dissolve a relationship
Likely to have children at older ages
Women who do not have higher qualifications are more likely to have their first birth outside of a live-in partnership
They are more likely to be lone-mothers
They are likely to have children at an earlier age
And are more likely to dissolve a relationship

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