Wizarding numbers and equality of opportunity

[Mikael Raaterova]

No: HPFGUIDX 83187

Robert Shaw wrote:

>Nor is equality of opportunity necessarily connected with birth rate.
>For muggles bringing up a large family was a full time job, because
>of the sheer drudgery involved. Magic makes it much easier, house
>elves more so.
>
>Elfrida could have had twelve children but no husband, and still done
>her job well, unlike any muggle of her time.
>
>This means that for wizards, there is no conflict between large
>families and feminine equality.

Your conclusion doesn't follow, unless you assume that all witches have a 
nanny or two (or a house-husband...). We do have a few child-raising 
references in canon, at the QWC; they do not hint at nannies of any species 
or any spell-based ersatz-mothering (and these people could afford the 
tickets, so they aren't to poor to have it, unlike the Weasleys). Raising 
children takes time away from everything else. If Elfrida had twelve 
children while managing to do her job well, then she most certainly didn't 
raise the children on her own. Magic could well make things more difficult, 
and a good example is the kid at the QWC that borrows his father's wand 
("You bust slug! You bust slug!"). Since allocation of time is the relevant 
mechanism, there will be a strong negative correlation between actual 
feminine equality and number of children, regardless of how equal the 
opportunities are.

It stands to reason that witches can use contraceptive and conceptive magic 
to only have wanted pregnancies (who would stop them?). They also have 
options other than becoming house-wives. Given the effects of this in the 
RW, I don't see how it would be otherwise in the WW. To be fair, witches 
live longer, so they can launch their careers when the children have left 
for Hogwarts. But lacking years of experience compared to wizards, witches 
will most likely be runners-up for any available position, unless 
child-raising counts as relevant experience, but i don't see the WW being 
that civilized.

/ Mikael