Young Australian women's aspirations for work and family.(Report)

Australia, like other OECD countries (d'Addio & d'Ercole, 2005; Sleebos, 2003), has witnessed significant downward trends in fertility rates over the past few decades (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2008), sparking interest in the childbearing intentions and patterns of young Australians. Delays in the commencement of childbearing (ABS, 2007, 2008), followed by low levels of subsequent childbearing, have meant a decline in the total fertility rate (McDonald, 2001) to 1.81 babies per woman, below the replacement level of 2.1 (Lattimore & Pobke, 2008). While Australia's fertility rate is at the higher end compared to other OECD countries (Gray, Qu, & Weston, 2008), the prospect of an ageing population and the associated economic and social consequences (Treasury, 2002) have drawn attention to policies that can help lift fertility rates in Australia (McDonald, 2006).

Further, significant social changes, including greater numbers of women in higher education (ABS, 2005) and an increased number of Australian women, including mothers, in paid employment (ABS, 2006, 2008) have meant a changing climate for Australian women. For instance, of women with children aged under 15 years, the proportion in paid work increased from 49% in 1987 to 57% in 2004 (ABS, 2006). Policies that allow women to combine paid employment with childrearing have been recommended to boost fertility rates (Gray et al., 2008), and they are also important for the health and wellbeing of many Australian women and men who combine paid work and family.

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To develop appropriate policies to help lift and sustain the fertility rate, as well as continue to develop suitable and supportive policies for women and men, a strong evidence base is needed (Weston, Qu, Parker, &Alexander, 2004; Wicks & Mishra, 1998). Whether people want to have children, the number of hours, if any, they wish to work, and whether they achieve their desired fertility and preferred working hours, have become matters of policy interest. This paper aims to contribute to the evidence base by examining the work and family aspirations held by young Australian women.

So, what has recent research on young Australian women's aspirations shown so far? Using data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), Wicks and Mishra (1998) showed that 92% of Australian women aged 18-23 years aspired to having at least one child by the time they were 35 years of age. In addition, 91% aspired to be in some form of paid employment. A more recent study by Weston et al. (2004), which looked at a broader age range, showed that the majority of women in their 20s and 30s aspired to having children. When asked about the number of children they considered ideal, the most common response was two children (46%), followed by three children (26%). Thus, the majority of young Australian women do want to have children, and the majority also aspire to be in some sort of paid work. However, our understanding of young Australian women's aspirations is, to date, based on cross-sectional analyses. Life course transitions, including the transition into adulthood (Arnett, 2000) and the acquisition of work and family roles, as well as changes in life circumstances, may mean that the work and family aspirations of young women might not be static over time.

This paper uses longitudinal methods to assess the work and family aspirations held by young Australian women, in order to assess the consistency of these aspirations over time. Specifically, we aim to investigate the work, relationship and motherhood aspirations of young Australian women and their trends over three time points, using data collected as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health