US fertility rates continued to fall overall in 2025 (down 1.3% for the second year in a row, for a total decline of 23.4% since 2007), to 53.1 births / 1,000 women between 15-44, from 53.8 in 2024. That includes continued declines
Per updated CDC data, the 2024 Provisional US Fertility Rate fell 1.3% overall (from 54.5 births / 1,000 women aged 15-44 to 53.8) from 2023. That included declines among teens 15-19 (down 4%, from 13.1 to 12.6 per 1,000 women
LINK to report
In 2021, per the CDC, the US birth rate rose nationally by 1%— from 56 births / 1,000 fertile women (those 15 to 44 years old) to 56.6 births, regaining some of the 4% loss in 2020. 2020. Among 2020
In 2020, the world’s first year of living dangerously with Covid, a smaller share of Americans had children than in the year prior. Most of this birth rate fall was part of the ongoing trend toward decline that has been underway
First published in The Nation (Dec. 14, 2021): LINK Though sex-based discrimination is no longer legal, it still structures American employment. Passing the Build Back Better bill could finally change that. Is sex discrimination in employment illegal? Congress isn’t sure.
Misogyny — a Greek word that means contempt for women — is an economic strategy as well as a feeling. Denial of women’s rights long ensured that they do much essential work for free and without representation. That includes bearing and rearing the next generation of workers. Currently, the economic model here is one of desperation, with misogyny as the linchpin. But having an economy that rewards rather than exploits care would generate both prosperity and well-being for all.