A social science study finds birth rates are impacted by gender cultural norms and policies.

In Sweden, people feel supported by social policy especially childcare provison which makes it easier for women to return to work. In the USA, people are happy to have kids and work because they feel flexibility to move into new jobs of their employers are unsupportive. But in Japan, the cultural expectation is that women should give up work after they have children. As a result, women are now less willing to have children, which is having a negative effect on the national birthrate.

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