Gender, Power, and Reproduction: Rural‐Urban Differences in the Relationship Between Fertility Goals and Contraceptive Use in Kenya*

Rural‐urban variances in fertility‐related phenomena traditionally are explained by differences in access to contraception and by spatial variations in reproductive goals. As a corollary, changes in existing supply‐ and demand‐side inequities should enable rural women to attain their reproductive goals to the same extent as their urban counterparts. We find, however, that reproductive decisions in rural areas reflect entrenched male dominance, such that the gender inequality in decision making must be redressed if rural women are to realize their fertility goals as fully as urban women.