The Economix Blog for the New York Times passed on new research from the Pew Foundation. Pew finds that the number of childless women has increased in all ethnic groups. 20 percent of white women have no children.

I suppose this isn't surprising; European women are even more likely to skip the minivan years. They are slightly ahead of us on this trend. The Economix was surprised that PhD/professional women are slightly more likely to have kids than women with a MA or BA. They are much more likely to have kids than a previous generation. Trail blazing with a kid in a Baby Bjorn isn't easy.

The Economix ends with an interesting hypothesis and question.

Perhaps this has something to do with Claudia Goldin’s findings
that some of the fields that require the most educational investment
upfront — like pediatrics, or veterinary medicine — also happen to be
fields whose work schedules allow for a healthy work-family balance.
High-achieving women who want children may be discovering this, and
making their career choices accordingly.

Are there other explanations for why the country’s most educated
women are more likely to have children today than they were in the
1990s?