Unfortunately, this truth is often rejected in cultures dominated by men, cultures which make up most of the world. The evidence is there, however. Denying it won’t make it untrue. The only logical conclusion is that for those men to whom power and control are the higher values, it doesn’t really matter if we all do better, as long as they do better.
The Environmental Science class I taught to teen moms included a unit on human populations. Because our students were reproducing—increasing the world’s population—watching the population clock and witnessing birth and death numbers in real time appealed to them.
As part of our lessons, we studied birth and death rates and created population pyramids, which depict in graphic detail (literally) the makeup of a nation by age and gender. But we had to go further to understand the discrepancies between low-income and high-income nations.
Comparing population statistics for Nigeria and the US, for instance, Nigeria’s graph looks like a tall lampshade, narrow at the top and fat at the bottom. The US graph looks like a bloated square up to the last few age ranges. Due to the longevity of women, they outnumber men within all age groups in the US, but by a larger number in ages above 60. In Nigeria, females outnumber males only slightly at higher ages.
In Nigeria, there’s a dip in the women-to-men ratio between ages 20 and 50—the childbearing and child rearing years—whereas in the US, women outnumber men from their 20s on. There’s clearly something dangerous about bearing children in some nations. It’s also notable that the life expectancy is only around 46 in Nigeria but around 77 in the US.
The demographic makeup of a country is obviously more complicated than what is demonstrated on a population pyramid or by birth and death rates. However, the International Monetary Fund agrees with the claim that began this piece.
…the primary factor leading to unintended pregnancy is lack of access to birth control. Other factors include poverty and low educational attainment.
In addition, the World Health Organization proposes that the primary factor leading to unintended pregnancy is lack of access to birth control. Other factors include poverty and low educational attainment.
The bottom line is that when women are educated and have access to birth control, they’re more likely to reach their human potential. Their communities and nations are more likely to flourish. This is just another way of saying “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
The students I taught were, in a way, self-selected to reject this data as well. None of the teens who had taken birth control effectively or had abortions needed our services. Only girls whose pregnancies were confirmed by a physician could enroll. If a miscarriage occurred, she was required to withdraw.
Despite our personal convictions, teachers worked hard to support our students through high school graduation, while simultaneously guiding them toward responsible motherhood.
Our students were there, with rare exception, because they chose to continue their pregnancies when confronted with those blue lines on the Clearblue test strip. Some weren’t given a choice by parents or circumstances, however. Most all would agree it wasn’t the best idea to become mothers at fourteen or fifteen, even at seventeen, but they all valued motherhood. Some had no higher aspirations.
I had high hopes for my students. I wanted each of them to become more than a mother. Being a good parent is hard work, and that was the better of the values, but making the most of their potential was my goal for them. Our communities, states, and nation lose out when women don’t contribute all they can offer.
I often told colleagues, “I want more for my students than they want for themselves.” In the end, I had to accept that they defined success for themselves. I could not define it for them.
At the same time, each year my Environmental Science students came to the same conclusion about the link between a nation’s prosperity and women’s prosperity. They were quick to agree with the concept, but I often cringed when they settled for much less. To be fair, they were, and are, products of a culture that devalues the abilities of women compared to men.
Sadly, too many women—including many of my former students—are content with that.
Janice Airhart 