Nearly one-in-five American women ends her childbearing years
without having borne a child, compared with one-in-ten in the
1970s. While childlessness has risen for all racial and ethnic
groups, and most education levels, it has fallen over the past
decade for women with advanced degrees. The most educated women
still are among the most likely never to have had a child. But
in a notable exception to the overall rising trend, in 2008, 24%
of women ages 40-44 with a master's, doctoral or professional
degree had not had children, a decline from 31% in 1994. By race
and ethnic group, white women are most likely not to have borne
a child. But over the past decade, childless rates have risen
more rapidly for black, Hispanic and Asian women, so the racial
gap has narrowed. By marital status, women who have never
married are most likely to be childless, but their rates have
declined over the past decade, while the rate of childlessness
has risen for the so-called ever-married -- those who are
married or were at one t