| Abstract: | A statistical study of data from the Egyptian census for 1960 points up the influence of the employment of women on their fertility. Results show that the child/woman ratio rises with the level of female employment in the rural areas, but falls as the level of employment rises in the urban areas. Subject to confirmation by more detailed methods, it seems that, in urban areas, provision of opportunities for women to work is of major importance in attempting to reduce national fertility levels, but this will have the opposite effect to what is intended in rural areas. Rural and urban fertility levels appear to be similar at a low level of economic activity; however, when this economic activity surpasses 10%, a noticeable fertility differential appears. Industrial or commercial work opportunities change a woman's pattern of living, and are essential to the permanent lowering of fertility to replacement levels. |
