The Economist magazine, for example, recently noted that in the 1950s, only one-third of American women were wage earners, compared with two-thirds today. Moreover, these women now constitute almost half of America's entire workforce. Similarly, in Asia's developing economies, there are 83 female workers for each 100 male workers, a figure that is higher than that of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member states.
This study also noted that women outnumber men worldwide. In Europe, for example, there are 7 percent more women, and in North America 3.4 percent more. Nevertheless, the situation is different in Asia where low birthrates, preferences for boys and China's one-child policy mean the proportions of females have declined steadily, so that rather than having around 90 million more females than males as would be expected, the continent's population is heavily skewed in the opposite direction.
China now has 120 male infants for each 100 female, while India has a ratio of 111 male infants to 100 female. Together, China and India account for 37 percent of the world's inhabitants. Both face problems created by this demographic distortion. One estimate, based on China's population censuses of the last five years, suggests that by 2020, the number of men aged between 20 and 30 will total 112 million, while that of women in the same age group will be 72 million. Given the importance of descendents to Han Chinese people, this will lead to major social problems.
Taiwan, because of its advanced economic development but traditional attitudes, finds itself suffering some of the problems of both East and West. This has led to its own unique demographic situation of a falling birthrate and growing male-to-female population. Fortunately, the government is aware of this and has initiated policies targeting it, with an increasing range of measures designed to encourage childbirth.
Unfortunately, one lesson learned by governments in both the West and East is that childbirth issues are particularly intractable and non-responsive to official intervention. Perhaps one reason for this is the small number of women who make it to the top of the political pile, which is another reason to push for increased participation by women in political and economic fields.