Nonfamilial roles of women and fertility : Pakistan and the Philippines compared

A comparative study of the relationship between female work participation and fertility in Pakistan and the Philippines was conducted using data from the 1975 Pakistan Fertility Survey (PFS) and the Philippines 1973 National Demographic Survey (NDS). The analysis consisted of 2 parts: 1) a comparative description of work participation levels and structure of female labor force in both countries; and 2) multiple regression analyses to test direction and magnitude of relationship between aspects of female labor experience and various indicators of fertility in both countries. Descriptive results indicated that 27% of Filipino women at time of survey were engaged in some form of economic activity compared with 18% of Pakistani women. Age of peak activity was observed in the 20-29 age group in Pakistan compared with the 30-39 age group in the Philippines. Regression results showed distinct differences in the occupational structures of Filipino and Pakistani women the differences being more significant and more diverse for Filipino women compared with the analogous results for Pakistani women. Fertility desires among Filipino women however did not correspond with actual fertility behavior. Among the educated working and currently pregnant women desire for additional children was significantly stronger among Filipino women than among Pakistani women. Overall work participation in the 2 countries exerted a negative effect on births in the 5 years before the survey with the results being significant only in the Philippines. This study does not permit the establishment of causal linkage in the negative association.