I live in East Asia, and here's what I see around here. I don't even believe it's a matter of what women do or don't want. East Asia is undergoing massive societal upheaval right now. It could go any way, of course, but there's a pretty good chance that several of these societies are going to be in even more dire straits than the West within a generation.
Asia eats its own. It's as simple as that. I know, and have known, tons of women who have had kids and have been back at work within a month. I know teachers -- government workers! -- who have been back at work within three months. Whether it's mandated by their employer or economics is irrelevant. Asians have bought into consumerism in a massive way. Taipei has one of the world's largest property bubbles. The average 20-something can expect to earn 20,000-30,000TWD/month (1US = 30TWD). A dog box in Taipei will easily set them back 10,000TWD/month. So they're paying up to 50% of their income in rent. They basically live hand to mouth, and most of them I have met, even if in a relationship, say that they have absolutely no desire to have kids. Those who earn more than average spend it on designer crap and/or holidays abroad.
Of course, outside of the major cities, things are much, much cheaper, but then where are the jobs? Basically, unless they marry a guy making bank, women simply don't have the choice to work or not work. They must work. Even then, they debate whether to have kids or not, and if they have kids, more often than not, they have only one or two. Look at East Asian TFRs. I have met tons of professional couples where they simply can't afford to have more than one kid. Then they outsource that kid to after school "cram schools" that are as much about the babysitting as the learning.
Then there is a whole demographic of people living with their parents, but in many cases, that money will run out eventually anyway. Regardless, there's a huge population of women subsisting on say, 30,000-40,000TWD/month in their 30s. They live like grown up, asexual eleven year olds. That allows them to fund their yoga classes and overseas holidays, but by that point, they're completely washed up.
As for traditional gender roles, those are basically gone for many. The women are more feminine overall, but because of the extremely long hours people put in (even if they don't work hard during them), everyone eats out here. Hardly anyone cooks at home, including women. Many women now simply don't know how to cook. God knows how much actual domestic work gets done.
Asian women going abroad is partly because they've bought into the modern ideal, but it's also because there is an educational arms race in Asia that is absolutely insane. There are no high paying blue collar jobs here like in the West, and women don't work those kinds of jobs anyway. Basically, if you don't have a prestigious degree, you don't get a good job, and then your life sucks.
Asia eats its own. It's as simple as that. I know, and have known, tons of women who have had kids and have been back at work within a month. I know teachers -- government workers! -- who have been back at work within three months. Whether it's mandated by their employer or economics is irrelevant. Asians have bought into consumerism in a massive way. Taipei has one of the world's largest property bubbles. The average 20-something can expect to earn 20,000-30,000TWD/month (1US = 30TWD). A dog box in Taipei will easily set them back 10,000TWD/month. So they're paying up to 50% of their income in rent. They basically live hand to mouth, and most of them I have met, even if in a relationship, say that they have absolutely no desire to have kids. Those who earn more than average spend it on designer crap and/or holidays abroad.
Of course, outside of the major cities, things are much, much cheaper, but then where are the jobs? Basically, unless they marry a guy making bank, women simply don't have the choice to work or not work. They must work. Even then, they debate whether to have kids or not, and if they have kids, more often than not, they have only one or two. Look at East Asian TFRs. I have met tons of professional couples where they simply can't afford to have more than one kid. Then they outsource that kid to after school "cram schools" that are as much about the babysitting as the learning.
Then there is a whole demographic of people living with their parents, but in many cases, that money will run out eventually anyway. Regardless, there's a huge population of women subsisting on say, 30,000-40,000TWD/month in their 30s. They live like grown up, asexual eleven year olds. That allows them to fund their yoga classes and overseas holidays, but by that point, they're completely washed up.
As for traditional gender roles, those are basically gone for many. The women are more feminine overall, but because of the extremely long hours people put in (even if they don't work hard during them), everyone eats out here. Hardly anyone cooks at home, including women. Many women now simply don't know how to cook. God knows how much actual domestic work gets done.
Asian women going abroad is partly because they've bought into the modern ideal, but it's also because there is an educational arms race in Asia that is absolutely insane. There are no high paying blue collar jobs here like in the West, and women don't work those kinds of jobs anyway. Basically, if you don't have a prestigious degree, you don't get a good job, and then your life sucks.