Gender and Fertility Patterns for Men and Women in Guatemala, 2002

Amy A. Ratcliffe, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Danielle B. Jackson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Paul Stupp, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Joan M. Herold, Emory University

Despite progress over the last decade, there is still widespread dissatisfaction with our ability to consider gender in demographic models and theories of fertility transition. This study uses data from the 2002 National Maternal and Child Health Survey of Guatemala to consider fertility patterns for men and women and to analyze the gender effect across categories of education, occupation, race and socioeconomic status. Overall differences in fertility for men (TFR = 5.0) and women (TFR = 4.1) diminish when controlling for these characteristics. Total fertility rates for men across lowest to highest education groups range from 7.1 to 2.8 whereas for women the range is 6.5 to 2.3. Male and female age-specific fertility patterns converge as education levels increase with respect to onset and pace of fertility. Respondents’ statements about gender roles will be included in multivariate models of fertility outcomes to explore how gender norms affect fertility.