Global Fertility Decline Fuels Nationalist Backlash, Strains Families
MUMBAI, INDIA – A growing global trend of declining birth rates is triggering a complex and concerning reaction: a rise in nationalist policies and conservative social agendas, alongside increasing pressure and guilt felt by working parents struggling to balance career and family life, according to a new report by the united Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The phenomenon, observed across numerous countries, presents a dual challenge - demographic stagnation coupled with a potential rollback of progressive social values.
the UNFPA’s recent findings reveal a correlation between falling fertility, aging populations, and the implementation of policies restricting migration and limiting women’s equality.Experts warn this trend weaponizes demographic anxieties, using population decline as justification for curtailing rights and reinforcing conventional gender roles. Simultaneously, the report highlights the practical obstacles preventing families from expanding, with time constraints emerging as a significant barrier for working parents.
“We note that low fertility, aging and stagnation of the population serve as a pretext for the implementation of nationalist, anti-migrant and conservative policies in matters of equality between men and women,” explained a UNFPA representative.This dynamic creates a feedback loop, where anxieties about national identity and cultural preservation are exploited to justify policies that may further exacerbate the conditions leading to lower fertility.
The pressures are acutely felt by individuals like Namrata, a director general in Mumbai, who spends approximately three hours daily commuting. Upon returning home, she faces the challenge of balancing professional exhaustion with the desire to spend quality time with her daughter. “After a working day, we obviously feel guilty, as a mother, not to spend enough time with her child,” Namrata shared, illustrating the emotional toll experienced by many working parents.
The UNFPA report underscores that the issue isn’t simply about a desire for larger families, but a systemic lack of support for those who want to have children while maintaining their careers and personal lives. The agency’s findings suggest a need for policies that address the root causes of declining fertility – including access to affordable childcare, flexible work arrangements, and equitable distribution of household responsibilities - rather than resorting to measures that restrict individual freedoms and reinforce societal inequalities.
