Gen Z men more eager than women for marriage and parenthood, says survey
Gen Z men on both sides of the political spectrum are more likely than women to want to marry and have children, according to a recent NBC News survey.
The poll asked adults aged 18-29 to choose three things that define success for them. Overall, both men and women listed fulfilling careers and financial independence among their top three. But men ranked being married and having children in seventh and eighth place respectively, while women ranked having children in 10th place, followed by being married.
The divide is starker when split along party lines. Men who voted for Trump listed having children as the most important thing in their personal definition of success, while parenthood came in sixth for Trump-supporting women. Male and female Trump voters also differed on marriage, which came in fourth place for men and ninth for women.
Among Gen Z Kamala Harris voters, being married and having children came in ninth and tenth place for men, respectively, but 11th and 12th place for women.
Are women choosing careers over kids?
The United States is suffering declines in marriage and birth rates, which Business Insider says is driven by women choosing careers over children. The far-Left publication claims this is “a sign of economic progress, signaling a rise in individualism and women's autonomy.”
"I couldn't imagine juggling work and children. I wouldn't be able to care for my two dogs without my husband,” 40-year-old career woman Jennifer Mathieu told Business Insider, adding: "I have zero regrets, love my life, and think at least three to four times a week about how thankful I am that I do not have children."
"We both work hard at our careers and honestly didn't feel like children fit into the life and goals we wanted," said Heather Watson, another female professional. "It always felt like it would be unfair to kids to try to fit them into our lives."
“Kids are expensive and sticky,” said another.
Plunging fertility rates
America’s fertility rate plunged to a new low last year, according to numbers published last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The data show that an average of fewer than 1.6 babies were born per woman in 2024. This is far below the replacement rate of 2.1, which is the number a generation needs to replace itself.
The US fertility rate has been plummeting for decades. In the early 1960s, it was 3.5. It began to decline with the “women’s liberation movement” until it reached 1.7 in 1976. The rate briefly rebounded to 2.1 by 2007, but has since continued to drop.
The Trump administration is taking measures to increase the fertility rates. In February, President Trump signed an executive order reducing the cost of IVF. The administration has also supported the idea of offering “baby bonuses,” financial incentives for having children.
The decline is part of a general fertility crisis in the West, with nearly all countries outside of Africa suffering from falling fertility rates. The UK’s fertility rate last year was just 1.44, down from 2.47 in 1946, causing British officials to plead with the public to have children. The UN recently issued a warning about plunging birth rates after its poll showed disappointing results. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) polled 14,000 people across 14 countries about their fertility rates: South Korea, Thailand, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, the US, India, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria. Twenty percent of respondents said they don’t yet have or don’t expect to have their desired number of children.
Researchers warn that by 2050 two-thirds of countries will lack the fertility rates to sustain their populations. That number will increase to 97% by 2100, which is when sub-Saharan Africa is expected to account for 50% of global births. Currently, fertility rates are highest in Africa, where Chad boasts the highest in the world.
