Many commentators focus on the large share of black children born to unmarried women: 69.4 percent in 2018. They point to the difficulties these children face. They preach the success sequence: education, employment, marriage, and then childbearing. They ignore, however, the substantial impediments black women face.
Some observers like Christina Cross suggest that black women have little reason to choose marriage since benefits from the nuclear family are much smaller for black children. Cross noted, “Although in general, youths raised in two-parent families are less likely to live in poverty, black youths raised by both biological parents are still three times more likely to live in poverty than their white peers.” What she didn’t state is that the poverty rate for black children in mother-only households is almost four times higher than those living in married-couple households: 46 versus 12 percent.
In her research paper, Cross did find that the four-year high school graduation rate for black children living in a single mother household was 57 percent compared to 77 percent for those living in married two-parent households. She has similar results for college attendance. Cross emphasized, however, that much of these educational benefits can be explained by the lower age at which unmarried mothers had their first child and their lower educational attainment than married mothers. However, none of Cross’ evidence changes a sobering fact: the substantial risks faced by the large share of children born to young unwed mothers with limited educational attainment. In particular, Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine find: “The gains [to children] from marriage are greatest for women who have high school degrees and have children in the early to mid 20s.”
The main problem with marriage promotion advocates is not that the benefits for black children are limited. It is that black women face structural barriers to marriage and to substantially delaying childbearing. In 1999, among those 25-29 years old, there were 27 percent more black men than black women if we exclude the prison population. This certainly impeded marriage. Twenty years later, as a result of declining incarcerations rates, black men outnumbered black women by less than 7 percent. However, available black men still have relatively low employment rates.
In addition, many black women cannot find black partners who have at least the same level of educational attainment. In 2017, among all those 25 years and older, 33 percent of black women but only 25 percent of black men have at least an associate’s degree. The mismatch is even greater when taking into account that interracial marriage rates are also substantially higher for black men (24 percent) than black women (12 percent), with the gap increasing as educational attainment rises. Thus, disparate educational attainment and out-marriage rates have historically created substantial obstacles for unmarried black women.
These obstacles have been reduced in recent years. Employment rates have substantially increased for unmarried black men, 25 to 45 years old; from 74.7 percent in 2010 to 81.6 percent in 2019. Just as important, over this nine-year period, educational attainment, as measured by having at least an associate’s degree, has risen much faster among black men than black women, substantially reducing the educational gap among unmarried blacks (table 1).
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Attainment of at Least an Associate’s Degree, Married and Unmarried Black Men and Women, 25 to 45 Years Old, 2010 and 2019 |
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|
|
Married Women |
Married Men |
Unmarried Women |
Unmarried Men |
|
2019 |
55.7 |
48.2 |
38.9 |
32.2 |
|
2010 |
44.2 |
34.5 |
32.9 |
22.0 |
|
Difference |
11.5 |
13.7 |
6.0 |
10.2 |
|
Source: March Current Population Survey, 2010 and 2019 |
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Increasing employment rates and educational attainment among black men is certainly hopeful. It may explain the modest 4.3 percent decline since 2010 in the share of black births outside of marriage. However, substantial childbearing still occurs among young unmarried women. In 2018, 29 percent of all black children, compared to 12 percent of white children, are born to unmarried mothers under 25 years old. This suggests that increasing further the age at which childbearing begins would be helpful.
While child poverty rates decline for black unmarried mothers when they begin childbearing in their thirties, this is not a viable strategy. It might make sense for those who desire only one or two children but not for those who desire a larger family, as do many poorer black women. Brookings’ Isabel Sawhill rejects this desire: “It is only fair to expect parents to limit the number of children they have to something they can afford.” However, there is no reason for women to heed this advice and no justification for public policy to create any disincentives to having large families.
Most importantly, black women have health issue that make childbearing in their early thirties much more dangerous than for white women. Black women have levels of diabetes twice those of white women. The CDC reported, “Poor control of diabetes during pregnancy increases chances of birth defects and other problems of pregnancy.” In addition, black women are three times more likely than other women to suffer uterine fibroids. Fibroids not only can cause miscarriages but also other problems that lead to hysterectomies. High fibroid levels are particularly prevalent among black women in their thirties. For these reasons, it is quite understandable that the vast majority of black women reject waiting past their twenties to have their first child.
There is also a question whether or not black unmarried women benefit by delaying childbearing from their early to mid-20s. Once controls are included, there is no difference in child poverty rates for children born to black unmarried mothers who were 20 to 24 years old and those 25 to 29 years old. However, the issue is not solely whether or not children escape poverty but will the family environment be more conducive to their ability to develop effective academic and behavioral skills; to increase educational attainment. One might argue that a 27-year-old unmarried mother has better parenting skills than when she was 22 years old. Studies also find that cohabitation will be longer lasting than if she had partnered when five years younger.
In addition, multi-partner fertility – having children fathered sequentially with different partners – would be less likely as the age at first birth increases. A national survey found that the age of first birth for those who experience multi-partner fertility was 19.9 years old but 23.3 years old for those who did not. Fewer children would have to experience the changing environment that results from multi-partner fertility. Moreover, this change would have a positive effect on the parenting efforts of nonresidential fathers. Once a mother has had a child with a new partner, she is much more likely to resist attempts at parenting from the father of her first child.
It is difficult to say how family formation decisions will be changed by the current pandemic. However, it is clear that many unmarried black women will continue to have to make difficult childbearing decisions. Despite the financial difficulties state and local governments are facing, they must redouble efforts to provide supports, including programs to strengthen partnerships and fatherhood responsibility; and in-home supports for young first-time mothers such as visiting nursing programs. The long-term welfare of too many children is at stake.
Robert Cherry is professor emeritus at Brooklyn College and is author of Jewish and Christian Views on Bodily Pleasure (Wipf & Stock, 2018).
