Having babies, or The Tale of Two Ovaries!

USA Today, Having it All Except Children:

A number of factors might be at play, experts say. The time was never right. Marriages failed. Potential husbands with big egos did not want to marry a hard-charging woman earning big money. Most single women still do not want to conceive or adopt a child on their own. Career ambitions intervened, and promotions were hard to come by if the boss detected baby hunger.

The list goes on. Demanding careers and long workweeks made fostering relationships difficult. Second husbands were not interested in starting a second family. Women didn’t want to turn a child over to a nanny to raise. And many put their faith in the popular belief that a woman today can conceive a child at virtually any age.

Creating a Life is based on a new, nationally representative survey of 1,186 high-achieving career women ages 28 to 55, employed full time or self-employed. Hewlett defines “high-achieving” as women whose incomes place them in the top 10% for their age group. Her high achievers, 28 to 40, earn at least $55,000 yearly; those 41 to 55, $65,000.

Among her findings:

33% of high-achieving women in general are childless at 40.
42% of women in corporate America are childless.
49% of “ultra achievers” (earning more than $100,000 a year) are childless.
25% of childless high achievers ages 41 to 55 still would like a child.
31% of older “ultra achievers” still want a child.
No high achiever ages 41 to 55 had a first child after age 39.
No ultra-achiever 41 to 55 had a first child after 36.
Overall, only 11%-14% of those without children preferred it that way.

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